PLN's meter readings

I do not think too many voices would be raised in dissent if I say that PLN is an inefficient outfit -- and I am not referring to the blackouts which, to be fair, seem to be getting less frequent in our area, though I still have to call in our very noisy generator from time to time -- like when the lights go out when I am in the middle of shaving, as they did the other day.

No, I am talking about another form of quite unbelievable inefficiency. Believe it or not, nobody has been reading the meters in the Ciganjur-Jagakarsa area for 18 months. At first, we understood that the meter reader was scared to come inside to read the meter because he was scared of our dog, which is not very large and whose bark is a great deal more alarming than his bite, which is nonexistent.

However, we were wrong -- it's not just us but the whole area that is affected. So we have been reading the meter ourselves for the past year or so and putting the answer in a envelope where it could be easily collected without the collector's having to come inside the gate. But it was never collected.

My wife has frequently complained about this, but always to be told, "We are sorry, but we have nobody to read the meters." So as not to be faced with a vast bill for 18 months or more, we have been paying each month a fixed sum approximating to our average monthly consumption. But what of those who have not been doing so?

The same farcical situation arose four or five years ago, with dire result for our neighbors and, up to a point, ourselves. One rather poor family whose average bill was Rp 7,000 per month, was suddenly clobbered for about Rp 200,000 in back payments. You can imagine what that did to their budget.

I hope that PLN has a PR department that monitors the media, which will bring this matter to the attention of PLN's "High Command," so that this disgraceful situation may soon be remedied.

R.B. SAWREY-COOKSON

Jakarta