T

he president director of PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN), Nur Pamudji, has issued an executive order demanding all procurement processes under the company to cut down on imports and prioritize purchasing products manufactured in Indonesia.

“This policy is effective as of July 1. I must say that this [new] policy is not aimed at efficiency, but rather to support domestic manufacturers,” Pamudji told journalists on Monday during a working visit to Muara
Karang power plant in North Jakarta.

Pamudji said such a policy would help create more jobs for Indonesians.

“Even though we buy domestic components at the same price as imported ones, PLN’s money will circulate domestically and will, therefore, help our national economy,” he said.

Pamudji said the company was constantly maintaining its power plants, many of which had been operating for decades, and had in the past been relying on imported products.

PLN previously imported components such as boilers, condensers, turbines, generators and transformers, from China, Japan and Europe.

Pamudji said several local manufacturers in Surabaya, Cilegon and Bandung had made a commitment to supply PLN with the required components.

“I assured you we would not import anything that could be manufactured domestically,” he said.

PLN has also revealed its plan to purchase switchgear from local producers within three months after the Idul Fitri holiday.

Separately, Bambang Aggono, the general manager of PLN’s subsidiary PT Pembangkit Jawa Bali, said that the company had launched a maintenance program called “Remaining Life Assessment [RLA]” to extend the lifetime of its power plants.

“It’s [the RLA] a method of predicting or detecting the condition of power plants’ components, which will help decision makers create scheduled inspections and maintenance so that maintenance costs will decrease,” he said.