PLN will only buy coal from ‘clean and clear’ miners
Rangga D. Fadillah, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Thu, 10/27/2011 9:08 PM
State power company PT PLN said Thursday that from next year, it would only purchase coal from mining firms whose permits received a “clean and clear” status from the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry.
“It means we’ll only sign purchasing contracts with coal miners that have a letter from the ministry stating that they have a ‘clean and clear’ status. If they don’t have the letter, we’ll not sign the contract,” said PLN primary energy director Nur Pamudji at his office in Jakarta on Thursday.
The Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry’s mineral and coal director general Thamrin Sihite said earlier that of the 8,475 mining licenses registered at the ministry, 4,504 were problematic. The ministry is currently entering details of all licenses together with their status into its database. If a license has no administrative problems, it will be given a “clean and clear” status.
Pamudji reported that next year, PLN would need around 58 million tons of coal, jumping from only 43.5 million tons this year. The increase is due to the completion of two coal-fired power plants -- one Cirebon, West Java, and one in Paiton, East Java.
