Poor electrical installation common

JAKARTA (JP): As many as 700 buildings, including some high-rises, in the city have poorly installed electrical systems, a businessman has said.

Mangatar Tobing, spokesman of the Indonesian Electricity Contractors Association, told reporters Tuesday that most developers only tried to provide electricity at the lowest possible cost.

"They rarely hire legal electrical contractors," he said after a meeting with Governor Sutiyoso. Instead, construction workers with little knowledge of electrical installation were often used to set up a building's electrical system at a far lower price.

"Such practices have been going on for years," he said.

Poor electrical installations had led to many fires and other accidents in the city last year, Mangatar said.

He urged city officials to take firm action against developers who made shortcuts for the sake of greater profits.

"This is very dangerous. If a high-rise building is equipped with a faulty electrical system, it could be prone to fire. And if the installation is only entrusted to some regular construction workers, who would be held responsible?" he said.

On top of substandard electrical systems, many buildings were poorly maintained, worsening the situation, he said.

"Developers only think about how to make a bigger profit by spending less. They intentionally ignore dangers for the sake of their own pockets," he said.

"Moreover, most electrical systems have not been checked for years. They should be checked every six months. But building owners seem to have forgotten this, too," he said.

Mangatar said that electrical problems tended to be made the scapegoat every time a fire occurred or an accident happened.

"Actually if building owners gave more attention to this matter, such problems could be easily avoided," he said.

He urged the municipality to enforce Law No. 15/1983 regarding the installation of electrical systems in buildings throughout the city.

"The law states that every developer must hire professional electrical contractors, recommended by the state-owned electric company, to install the system within each building," he added.

Ordinance

In a bid to prevent future accidents, he said the municipality and the association, with the help of related parties, were currently preparing an ordinance on electrical installations.

"Hopefully, we can submit the ordinance proposal within two months. It's a long process... but we are optimistic that this step will lead to better safety and more secure electrical systems," Mangatar said.

When asked about whether the prices of electrical components were rising due to the monetary situation, he admitted that prices had jumped for almost every item, ranging from cables to lamps.

"This leap is also affecting the price for installation services. Currently, the fee for installing one electrical fitting is Rp 30,000 (US$3.75). We are not sure about the prices anymore... we'll probably have to raise the service price by at least 20 percent," he said.

Electrical installation businesses have been hit hard by the monetary crisis because most of their equipment and components are still imported and paid in U.S. dollars.

"Basically, we want to provide the best service to our customers. But we have to be realistic here. It's impossible for us not to raise our prices because all of the material is also climbing in price," he added. (edt)