PLN staff dominate power board list
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Officials of state power firm PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) dominate the list of candidates for the board of the new power market regulator.
Out of 13 candidates who passed the preliminary selection, eight were PLN officials, while the remaining five were either professionals or university lecturers, Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources secretary general Luluk Sumiarso said.
Luluk, who heads the selection committee for the Electricity Market Regulatory Board (Bapeptal), said about 60 people had applied for the jobs, including many academics and non- governmental organization (NGO) activists.
However, many of the academics and activists failed to pass the preliminary selection process.
He insisted the process was fair and transparent as it was conducted by an independent team that included academics.
Ministry head of energy utilization Yogo Pratomo said to ensure fairness during the initial selection process, the team examined documents from applicants who were identified by numbers rather than names.
"We did not know the identities of the candidates until the interviews on Thursday. The positions were open to all citizens, including PLN officials," he said.
On Thursday, the selection committee team conducted final interviews with the candidates in a session open to the public.
Ten out of the 13 candidates will be proposed to President Megawati Soekarnoputri who will pass the names to the House of Representatives. The House will select five officials from the 10 candidates.
Yogo said that if selected, the PLN officials would have to resign from the company to maintain the impartiality of Bepeptal.
Bapeptal will play a crucial role in the process of liberalizing the country's power sector following the introduction of Electricity Law No. 20/2002, which lifts the decades-long monopoly of state electricity company PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN).
Under the law, the new agency is charged with setting electricity price guidelines, supervising competition and securing electricity supplies in the country's open power market.
However, an NGO, the Working Group on Power Sector Restructuring, said the establishment of Bapeptal was unnecessary at the moment.
"The power sector is not ready for competition because there is not yet any clear idea about the type of power market we are going to establish and about the rules on competition in the power market," Fabby Tumiwa, the group's coordinator told The Jakarta Post.
List of candidates for Bapeptal board:
1. Hartojo MM (retired PLN official)
2. Harry Hartoyo (PLN)
3. Gatot Sriyono (Total construction company)
4. Djoko Darwanto (Bandung Institute of Technology)
5. Aman Subagion Rachman (PLN)
6. Fuad Alhadi (PLN)
7. Mochamad Romadhon (PLN)
8. Edi Setianto (Indonesian Electricity Society)
9. Basuki Prayitno (PLN)
10. Mulia S.R. Sitohang (PLN)
11. Gibson Sianipar (Bandung Institute of Technology)
12. Eden Napitupulu (PLN)
13. Uno Bintang Sudibyo (University of Indonesia)