PLN turns to oil supply

PLN turns to oil supply

LONDON (Reuters): Indonesian state power utility PT Perusahaan
Listrik Negara (PLN) wants to buy more oil products for power
generation and cut gas purchases made in hard currency, an energy
official said yesterday.

Increased purchases would help to shore up Indonesia's sagging
oil products demand which has been depressed by the country's
economic crisis and would help conserve PLN's foreign exchange
holdings, Purnomo Yusigiantoro, adviser to Indonesia's Energy
Minister Kuntoro Mangkusubroto, said.

PLN, which has a monopoly of power disribution in Indonesia
and has earnings in rupiah, pays for gas in dollars and for fuel
oil in rupiah.

"So for PLN, it's easier to switch the fuel from gas to oil.
And in most of their gas power plants they have dual (capacity
for either gas or oil generation)."