PLN will soon operate two new subsidiaries

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)