PLN suffers Rp 880b annually

PLN suffers Rp 880b annually

JAKARTA: State electricity company PLN said it was losing
about Rp 880 billion a year due to power theft in Jakarta and
Tangerang.

The general manager of PLN's business division for Jakarta and
Tangerang, Margo Santoso PS, said the company would launch an
operation to fight power theft in Jakarta and Tangerang on Aug.
1.

He added that it was hoped the new program would reduce the
theft from 11 percent of all power sold to between 8 percent and
9 percent.

Annually, the company earned Rp 8 trillion from the sale of
power.

If it is able to reduce the power losses by just 1 percent,
the company would be able to save Rp 80 billion, Antara reported
him as saying.

Margo also threatened those caught stealing the power with
court.

Power theft is taking place not only in large businesses but
also in households. The thefts even tend to increase in middle to
upper-income households, he said. --JP