PLN to operate two new subsidiaries

JAKARTA (JP): The Minister of Finance has approved the establishment of two subsidiaries by state-owned electricity company PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN), which will control power generation facilities in Java and Bali, an executive said.

"We received the licenses last week of PT Pembangkitan I and PT Pembangkitan II, which expect to start operation within the next six months," the company's president, Djiteng Marsudi, was quoted by Antara as saying on Wednesday.

The capital and legal aspects of the planned subsidiaries are now being prepared, he said.

Djiteng explained that Pembangkitan I will be responsible for the operation of PLN's power plants in West and Central Java, while Pembangkitan II will control the operation of power stations in East Java and Bali.

The two subsidiaries will reportedly be managed efficiently in order to compete with two private electricity companies which will operate power generation units in Paiton, East Java. They will have a combined capacity of 2,400 megawatts.

According to Director General of Electricity and Energy Development Zuhal, a former president of PLN, four foreign power corporations have applied for partnership in the planned subsidiaries. The four firms are National Power Corp. from Britain, EDF Power Corp. from France and two unnamed American firms.

PLN, now operating power plants with a total capacity of 12,000 megawatts and maintaining a 11,000-kilometer transmission network, plans to build more plants to increase its capacity by 13,000 megawatts in the next five years. (04)