Police to probe PLN on customer deposits
Abdul Khalik, Jakarta
Police will begin to investigate this week the alleged misuse of trillions of rupiah of funds that customers deposited when they subscribed to state-owned electricity company PT PLN.
National Police director of specific crimes Brig. Gen. Suharto said on Sunday that his officers were looking into the case, but had to ascertain the facts before questioning witnesses later in the week.
A government-founded body called the Indonesian Reclasseering Mission Institute filed a report with the National Police on Friday, demanding a probe into alleged graft involving some Rp 4 trillion in funds deposited by consumers when they applied for electricity installation.
The money is supposed to be returned once a customer has stopped subscribing, if they have no outstanding bills.
Jamaluddin Amra, an institute official, said on Friday that his organization suspected the money had been embezzled as there had been no accountability report.
"We investigated the case over four months and found no clear record of how much the PLN had received in deposits, nor where the funds were deposited. It is also unclear where the interest has gone," said Jamaluddin.
He said his organization had sought clarification from the PLN over the funds on several occasions, but had so far received no response.
According to the PLN's official website, a customer has to deposit Rp 149 for every volt ampere (VA) they use, when they first apply for electricity installation. Thus, a customer subscribing for 900 VA would have to pay Rp 134,100 upon installation.
In 2001, the PLN had around 30 million customers, 90 percent of whom used 900 VA, while the remainder used 1,300 or more. If all 30 million customers used 900 VA then the deposit funds kept by the PLN should amount to around Rp 4 trillion.
PLN officials were not available for comment on Saturday or Sunday.
Daryatmo of the Indonesian Consumers Foundation (YLKI) said on Sunday that the PLN had never released a public report on the total funds customers had deposited, nor on how much interest the company had accumulated by saving the money.
"The funds belong to the public, so it is the PLN's obligation to disclose the total amount of money they are holding. They must also report the interest they have collected from the funds," said Daryatmo.
He said that as the PLN had kept the money for years, the interest must be huge by now.
Daryatmo also claimed that the PLN had not returned the deposits of customers who had terminated their subscriptions.
"As far as we know, the PLN never returned the deposits, for instance, of thousands of evicted families. They may have been illegal squatters, but they were legal electricity customers," he said.
Daryatmo also questioned whether it was necessary for customers to deposit money in the future, as the PLN could cut their electricity at any time, if they couldn't pay their monthly bill.