Residents complain over bills

BOGOR: Bogor residents have complained over exorbitantly high electricity bills that are allegedly the result of poor management of state electricity company PLN.

Some of them have had to pay a monthly bill of millions of rupiah despite their having an installed power capacity of only 1,300 watts.

At the Bogor branch office of PLN, hundreds of residents queued at the customer service counter to question the exorbitant rates.

"Usually, I only pay some Rp 30,000 per month. But during the last three months my bill has jumped to Rp 150,000 although PLN staff have never come to my house," Iyah, a resident of East Cilendek said.

Lili, a resident of Perumda housing complex in Cipaku concurred, saying that her electricity bill in April had reached Rp 6 million, although her installed power capacity is only 1,300 watts.

"My bill has increased during the last three months. Usually, it's only Rp 150,000 per month. Then it rose to Rp 200,000, then to Rp 300,000 and now it's Rp 6 million," she said.

She said that when she complained to PLN, the state company reduced it to Rp 2 million and then to Rp 1.6 million. "But still I won't pay it unless PLN provides accurate data on my bill," she said.

PLN's spokesman refused to comment on the problem. -- JP