Police to probe PLN on customer deposits
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.