PLN's losses likely to widen in '03

PLN's losses likely to widen in '03

JAKARTA: Indonesia's state-owned electricity company, PT
Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN), said Wednesday it recorded a net
loss last year, which is expected to widen this year.

PLN, responding in a written statement to a question from
parliament, said it recorded an estimated Rp 5.62 trillion
(US$638 million) net loss last year, swinging from a net profit
of Rp 180.18 billion in 2001.

It expects a net loss of Rp 8.96 trillion this year but didn't
elaborate.

The government had planned to increase electricity bills by an
average of 6 percent last month to help PLN's bottom line, but
nationwide street protests prompted the government to reduce the
scale of the hike to an average of 3 percent.

PLN was hit hard by the rupiah's sharp fall during the 1997-98
Asian financial crisis because it sells electricity in rupiah
while it buys electricity from several independent power
producers in U.S. dollars. -- Dow Jones