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PLN to charge late coal providers to secure supply
In a bid to secure coal supplies for its power generators, state-owned power company PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) said Sunday it would penalize suppliers that failed to make deliveries on time
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In a bid to secure coal supplies for its power generators, state-owned power company PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) said Sunday it would penalize suppliers that failed to make deliveries on time.
PLN president director Fahmi Mochtar said the fine against tardy companies was not aimed to finance PLN, but merely to maintain national energy security.
"If the (coal providing) companies are disciplined in delivering coal to PLN, there will be no more problem. Hopefully, the fining will cure their bad habit so they will not repeat it again," Fahmi said as quoted by Antara, adding that the quantity of delivered coal must likewise meet PLN's requirements.
He said the fine would be included as a clause in PLN coal delivery contracts.
"We are still formulating the amount of the penalty."
He said the role of coal providers was becoming more important in light of the government's plan to accelerate its 10,000 megawatts (MW) power project, in which PLN would develop around 35 new power plants worth total US$8.3 billion.
The government expects the program to offer electricity coverage nationwide by 2010. PLN's current 29,000 MW production means around 45 percent of the country's 230 million people do not have sufficient access to power supply.
Earlier this month, the House of Representatives approved a government proposal to allocate an electricity subsidy worth Rp 61.01 trillion (US$6.7 billion) from the 2008 State Budget.
Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro said the government actually needed at least Rp 66.01 trillion to finance the 2008 subsidy.
To cover up the Rp 5 trillion deficit, PLN plans to reduce administrative and managerial losses, convert fuel for its plants from diesel to gas and to introduce a new electricity subsidy scheme, including non-subsidized tariffs". (uwi)
