PLN will soon operate two new subsidiaries

JAKARTA (JP): The state-owned electricity company PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) will operate its two new subsidiaries, called PT Pembangkitan I and Pembangkitan II, by the end of this year, the company's president said yesterday.

"We are now in the final preparation, especially, on the capital structure and legal aspects of the subsidiaries," PLN's president Djiteng Marsudi told a hearing with the Mining and Energy Commission of the House of Representatives.

He said that Pembangkitan I will be responsible for the operation of PLN's power plants in West Java and Central Java, while Pembangkitan II will manage the operation of power plants in East Java and Bali.

Minister of Finance approved on Aug. 11 the establishment of the two subsidiaries.

Djiteng said that the two subsidiaries which will be prepared for domestic and international listings, will manage commercial operations, while PLN as holding company will concentrate on social missions.

Djiteng said that PLN will also set up a joint venture company with state-owned oil company Pertamina in the development of a geothermal power plant early next year.

"We plan the shareholding of the joint venture company will be fifty-fifty," he said without any elaboration.

Coal tender

Djiteng confirmed that PLN appointed last week the state-owned coal mining company PT Tambang Batubara Bukit Asam as the supplier of 10 million tons of coal a year to the three new units (V, VI and VII) at the Suralaya coal-fired power station in West Java.

PLN's Director of Development Nurtjahja Manuaba said that PT Tambang Batubara Bukit Asam defeated seven other bidders, including privately-owned companies Kaltim Prima Coal, Adaro and Berau Coal.

He said that the delivery of the coal will start in 1997 coinciding the completion of the three units of the Suralaya plant. The agreement ends in 2002.

PT Tambang Batubara Bukit Asam's president, R.A. Soenardi, said last week that the prices offered to PLN is Rp 57,000 (US25.909) per ton for coal with a specification of 5,100 kilo calories per ton and Rp 62,000 for coal with a specification of 5,700 kilo calories per ton.

He said that PT Tambang Batubara Bukit Asam will open four mines at Tanjung Enim, South Sumatra to supply the three new units of the Suralaya plant. The four mines will expand Bukit Asam's production capacity from 6.7 million tons to 16.7 million tons per year.

New projects

Djiteng said that PLN had reached preliminary agreements with eight private power consortia to develop power stations in the country comprising: two gas-powered stations -- Bantar Gebang (50 megawatt (MW)) and Palembang (130 MW); four steam-powered plants -- Barabai (2x5 MW), Cilacap (400 MW), Serang (400 MW) and Awar- Awar (2x660 MW); and one diesel-powered station in Pare-Pare (4x30 MW).

He said that PLN is also negotiating with private investors on the development of nine private power projects comprising: five steam power stations -- Tarahan (2x100 MW), Sibolga (2x100 MW), Pontianak (2x25 MW), Amurang (2x55 MW), East Java (400 MW) -- and four gas power plants -- Samarinda (130 MW) Sengkang (135 MW), Pasuruan (500 MW) and Serpong (400 MW). (04)