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Jakarta Post

INAplas, ATSI sign new deals with PLN

Two business associations and state electricity firm PT PLN have agreed to exclude members of the two groupings from a joint-ministerial decree on the national power-saving program

Mustaqim Adamrah (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Mon, September 1, 2008

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INAplas, ATSI sign new deals with PLN

Two business associations and state electricity firm PT PLN have agreed to exclude members of the two groupings from a joint-ministerial decree on the national power-saving program.

The two groupings are the Indonesian Plastic and Olefin Industries Association (INAplas) and the Indonesian Cellular Telecommunication Association (ATSI), Java and Bali PLN director Murtaqi Syamsuddin says.

The agreement between PLN and ATSI was signed last week, with a similar agreement due to be signed later this week between PLN and INAplas.

"PLN and ATSI signed a memorandum of understanding last week," Murtaqi told The Jakarta Post on the weekend.

"This is the first business-to-business MOU we have ever signed with regard to the power-saving program," he added.

ATSI members required a sustained electricity supply from PLN 24 hours a day for their thousands of Base Transceiver Stations (BTS) and Mobile Switching Centers.

"We realize the telecommunications industry plays an important part (in the economy)," Murtaqi said.

In compensation, each ATSI member would pay their bills at an "unsubsidized" electricity rate, he said.

Electricity subsidies are estimated to reach Rp 88.4 trillion (US$9.65 billion) this year, much higher than the Rp 33.1 trillion in 2007, due soaring global fuel prices in recent months.

ATSI secretary general Dian Siswarini said the agreement also included "a single, integrated payment system and a single pricing formula" for all members.

The government, through PLN, has been promoting power-saving programs in businesses to help reduce the electricity peak load and avoid blackouts, which have been occurring in many parts of Indonesia, including Java and Bali.

Early last month, PLN issued a regulation ordering manufacturers in Java and Bali to move two working days per month to weekends, but excluded those forced to operate 24-hours a day.

Only last week, PLN, malls and office buildings agreed to enact a less severe version of a regulation on power-saving requiring businesses to switch using power generators for three hours per week (compared to the 10 hours initially proposed).

PLN expects this new agreement to reduce the load on the national grid by up to 200 megawatts (MW) per day.

PLN estimates that electricity consumption in Java and Bali will increase by 2.5 percent during Ramadan and the period surrounding New Year's Day.

As for INAplas, secretary general Budi Susanto Sadiman said among the clauses to be included in the agreement were permits for them to operate at full capacity every day, a guarantee of sustainable electricity supply and PLN's capability to increase its supply if required.

In return, he said, INAplas members that now paid Rp 637 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) would willingly pay PLN Rp 980 per kWh for electricity supplied between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m., Rp 1,960 between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. and Rp 882 between 10 p.m. and 10 a.m.

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