Govt asks PLN to reconsider its plan to tender fuel supply

The government has asked state electricity company PT Perusahaan Listrik Neara (PLN) to reconsider its decision to tender the supply of one million kiloliters of High speed Diesel (HSD).

"The reason behind opening a tender is to seek cheaper price, compared to that offered by state oil and gas company Pertamina and also to reduce the debt burden in the coming years. However, its decision should be restudied carefully as we don't expect that PLN will be in trouble," said director general of electricity and energy utilization at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources J. Purwono in Jakarta Wednesday.

According to him, if PLN purchases fuel oil through a tender, then the company should face stricter regulation on payment. PLN will be subject to penalty if it fails to pay the debt. Currently, PLN's debt to Pertamina reaches Rp 13 trillion.

Meanwhile, PLN's spokesman Muljo Aji said that the PLN will go ahead with its plan to tender the supply of fuel oil to meet the HSD supply needs for its four plants because the decision was made through the company's general shareholders meeting (RUPS). "If the decision remains unchanged, then we will go ahead with the tender," he said.

The decision to import one million kiloliters of HSD was the result of RUPS, which made by the government or the Ministry of State Enterprises, Muljo said.

He said that tender winner is expected to be completely appointed in the next one or one and half month from now.

Bidders have started to take pre-qualification documents, he said. (godang)