Electricity crisis to occur in Sumatra, Sulawesi and Papua

State owned electricity company PLN has warned that the power crisis might soon hit Sumatra, South Sulawesi, Mataram and Papua due to the continued increase in the electricity demand in the areas, Kompas reported on Thursday.

PLN's director for transmission and distribution Herman Darnel said in Jakarta on Wednesday that the power supply from PLN would be no longer enough to meet the power demand in the areas, which continued to show a rapid increase during the past several years.

He said that the supply condition was getting worse because many companies had turned to PLN to get their power supply following the increase in the fuel prices. "Many companies have no longer operated their own power generators due to the increase in the fuel price," he said.

According to him, the power crisis in these areas could not be avoided, unless the power supply is increased by establishing new power plants. (*)