PLN staff dominate power board list

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)