Power operator says city owes Rp200b

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The city administration owes Rp 200 billion (US$20.62 million) in unpaid bills to state electricity firm PLN, a company official said on Monday.

PLN's Jakarta and Tangerang district general manager Fahmi Mochtar said on Tuesday that the bills were run up city administration offices and the street lighting agency.

Fahmi did not specify for how long the city administration had not been paying its bills.

He expressed the hope that city agencies would pay at least 5 percent of their total arrears this year.

"We will negotiate with these agencies to try to encourage them to reduce their outstanding arrears," Fahmi told the press after signing a cooperation agreement with the city administration on the collection of street lighting charges.

Meanwhile, Jakarta Revenue Agency director Agusman Baharuddin was reluctant to comment on the administration's debts to PLN, saying that he was not the right person to explain the issue.

"You better ask the head of the city street lighting agency, which is responsible for most of the arrears," he added.

According to Fahmi, nearly all branches of the central government and local administrations across the country owed money to the electricity firm.

He added that his company preferred to use an amicable approach to resolving the problem.

Speaking about cooperation between PLN and the city administration on the collection of street lighting charges, Governor Sutiyoso said that the city wanted to increase its revenue from this source.

According to figures provided by the administration, the city had collected some Rp 130.50 billion in street lighting charges up to June this year, or 50.19 percent of the total target for this year of Rp 260 billion.

Street lighting charges are expected to contribute 1.89 percent of the city's 2005 budget.

The collection of these charges is based on Bylaw No. 16/2004 on the street lighting charges and Ministry of Home Affairs Decree No. 35/2002.