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tate electricity monopoly PT PLN reprimanded state oil and gas firm PT Pertamina over its failure to ensure a timely supply of fuel to PLN’s Tanjung Priok gas-fired power plant in North Jakarta.

PLN senior manager of gas and oil procurement Suryadi Mardjoeki said Saturday that Pertamina had not made its deliveries of 35,000 kiloliters of diesel per month from May to July due at the beginning of August as requested by PLN.

“The problem seems to be related to the availability of barges for delivery as the power plant is quite difficult to reach by other means,” he told The Jakarta Post via telephone.

Suryadi said that in early August PLN had issued a warning letter to Pertamina demanding fuel delivery for the 740-megawatt power plant, which is powered by both oil and gas.

“Pertamina has reaffirmed its commitment, so we’ll wait and see,” he said, adding that PLN would possibly another supplier if Pertamina failed to fulfill its commitment.

Pertamina spokesman M. Harun told the Post on Sunday that the requested supply was not a regular shipment, but additional fuel demanded by PLN due to a gas shortage.

“We have delivered fuel to PLN as scheduled. But because of a gas shortage, PLN asked us to accelerate the delivery. So we need additional barges to meet the order,” he said via telephone.

Pertamina and PT Trans Pacific Petrochemical Indotama (TPPI) won a tender in October 2010 to provide PLN with 5 million kiloliters of diesel.

The total amount is to be delivered over four years with an annual shipment of 1.25 million kiloliters.

Pertamina, which will supply 60 percent of the total, is scheduled to supply diesel to three locations: the Tanjung Priok power plant (500,000 kiloliters), Muara Tawar gas-fired power plant in Bekasi, West Java (100,000 kiloliters), and the Grati gas-fired power plant in Gresik, East Java (150,000 kiloliters).

TPPI, which holds a 40 percent share of the contract, will distribute fuel to two locations: the Tambak Lorok gas-fired power plant in Semarang, Central Java (200,000 kiloliters), and the Belawan gas-fired power plant in Medan, North Sumatra (300,000 kiloliters).

PLN has planned a number of measures to reduce its high dependency on oil and skyrocketing fuel prices, such as building more gas-fired and coal-fired power plants.

PLN recently said it wanted to reduce the share of oil-based fuel from 21 percent in 2010 to 19 percent in 2011, 3 percent in 2013 and 1.73 percent in 2014.