PLN establishes new rate policy to zap high power use

Dicky Christanto , The Jakarta Post , Denpasar | Fri, 04/04/2008 1:18 AM | Bali

State power company PT PLN says it will move forward with its new rate policy, called a multitasking rate, for customers who fail to limit electricity usage to around 80 percent of the national average.

The new rate policy came into effect this month.

PLN Bali office's deputy public relations manager, Hendra Saleh, said customers who limited their electricity usage below this 80 percent mark would be charged under the old rate scheme.

"It's the time to use electricity with extra caution, especially those with high voltages of electricity installed. By using electricity carefully, we donate a great amount of energy to our brethren who really need it," he said Wednesday.

However, he failed to give an exact figure for national average electricity usage, saying the Jakarta office had yet to send it.

The multitasking rate is set at Rp 1,380 per kilowatt hour. The targeted customers are those with current installed electricity starting from 6,600 volt-ampere, while customers with installed power below that grade are still charged under the 2004 basic rate for electricity at Rp 621 per kilowatt hour.

The number of high-profile customers on Bali has reached 18,363, or around 20 percent of the total 72,000 customers on the resort island.

Hendra said the company expected around 50 percent of high-profile customers would succeed in making necessary adjustments to the new policy.

He said that even though the new rate had been set for high- profile customers, he expected other customers would also make an effort to cut power consumption.

"We suggest other customers unplug unused electricity appliances in the peak hours between 7 to 10 p.m. every day ...," he said.

The multitasking rate replaces the incentive and disincentive policy, which was implemented for less than a month by PLN, after protests from customers, lawmakers and NGOs.

However, several high-profile customers have similarly opposed the new policy, saying they could not reduce their electricity usage because it would negatively affect their businesses.

Dharmawan, an operator of an Internet cafe in Denpasar, said he wouldn't be able to cut his power use because the cafe needed electricity to run.

"I cannot reduce anything as it could harm the business. As you see, an internet cafe needs a lot of electricity to power its operation," he told The Jakarta Post.

He said he preferred to pay the higher rate rather than reduce the cafe's electricity usage. He said his electricity bill was around Rp 4.7 million a month under the old rate scheme.

Supia Sunotorejo, a businesswoman who runs a restaurant in the city, also said it would be hard for her to cut back on power usage.

"If I reduce the use of one refrigerator, it will mean a lot to my business," she said.

Instead, Supia said, she wanted to increase the installed electricity capacity in her restaurant.

Many believe the policy was set because PLN was facing a serious problem supplying electricity to customers as a result of soaring global oil prices, which are currently above US$100 per barrel.

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