Water operators complain about blackouts

Indah Setiawati ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Wed, 11/11/2009 9:19 PM  |  Jakarta

The city's private water operators, PT Aetra Air Jakarta and PT PAM Lyonnaise (Palyja), slammed PT PLN for the ongoing blackouts that have made it difficult to supply water.

Both companies depend power from the state-owned electricity company to run their pumping stations.

“Our service has been very disrupted," Palyja spokeswoman Meyritha Maryanie told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.  

"It takes about four hours to distribute water to customers after we experience a one hour power outage.”

Aetra's president director Syahril Japarin voiced a similar concern. He said customers who lived on the distribution network's outskirts experienced a similar disruption.

“We have experienced blackouts that have lasted an hour a day on average," he said, adding Aetra paid Rp 3.5 billion (US$370,000) for electricity bills each month.  

Palyja currently serves around 410,000 customers living in western and northern Jakarta. Aetra serves about 390,000 customers living in the city's east.

According to data from Palyja, the amount of blackouts at its pumping stations added to a total of 121 hours in October, right after  
PLN's substation in Cawang caught fire on Sept. 29.

Meyritha said the company tried to be prioritized for electricity distribution. The blackouts have been estimated to last until December when the repair of the Cawang substation is expected to finish.

Purnomo Willy, the general manager of PLN's Jakarta and Tangerang branch, said the company could not control electricity distribution for public service companies such as the two water companies.

“When we switch off a power station, we cannot choose which customers will receive electricity,” he told the Post.

He said the company could not provide generators to the water operators as they did for public service buildings such as hospitals because the two companies’ electricity usage was too high.

“But we will try to more evenly distribute electricity,” Purnomo said.

Copyright © 2008 The Jakarta Post - PT Bina Media Tenggara. All Rights Reserved.