PLN to provide prepaid services for outdoor ads
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The state electricity company PT PLN plans to make available prepaid electricity services for outdoor advertising this year due to the prevalence of electricity theft -- by tapping into wires.
"Our colleagues in the marketing division are preparing a prepaid service system to allow customers to buy kilowatt hour (Kwh) meters, which can be set to shut down service automatically when the amount of wattage stipulated by the customer is used up," Sulastyo, the company's manager for distribution in Jakarta and Tangerang, said on Tuesday.
Sulastyo said that PLN intended to reduce the losses created by power theft -- or illegal connections by certain parties or individuals.
Last week, PLN did a series of spot checks in areas where lighted billboards were placed. They checked 273 sites in Kebayoran, Kramat Jati and Tangerang.
"Out of 273 sites, illegal connections were found at 152 of them," said Sulastyo, adding that in Kebayoran alone, 75 out of the 131 sites checked had indications of power theft.
He estimated that each week, the company would typically lose at least Rp 2.5 billion, just at the 152 sites checked in Jakarta and Tangerang.
He said that PLN would hold the contractors -- who provided the advertisement services -- responsible for the theft occurring at their advertisement sites.
He said that in some cases it appeared that electricity was being stolen from one advertisement site for use for another advertisement. "That would mean it is not only PLN that suffers losses, but also the contractors themselves."
Media reports last week revealed that most power theft for outdoor advertising occurred at bus shelters such as those along Jl. S. Parman in West Jakarta and Jl. Jend. Sudirman in South Jakarta.
Sulastyo said that such inspections would be repeated consistently to curb such theft at the more than 1,000 outdoor advertisement spots in Jakarta and its vicinity.
Asked about what would happen if PLN staff were found to be involved in the power theft, Sulastyo said that it was up to the public to report it to the police.
"The company has a policy for such matters and if an employee is proven guilty, the person is subject to dismissal," he explained. (004)