Govt to submit power rate hike proposal

The government is expected to submit a plan for a 15-percent rise in the basic power rate (TDL) to the House of Representatives (DPR) in April, an official said.

Director General of Electricity and Energy Utilization at the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry J Purwono said on Wednesday his office was still discussing details of the plan.

"In April we will discuss it with the DPR," he was quoted by Antara news agency as saying.

Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Darwin Z. Saleh meanwhile said the government would put into consideration the purchasing power of small-scale subscribers in raising the power rate.

Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said on Monday the government was expected to raise the power rate by about 15 percent in July.

She said the government would not raise the power rate in the first semester of this year because it saw that the economic recovery was still ongoing.

In addition, it also wanted to focus on improving power supply services for the people, she said.

The government in its revised 2010 state budget increased electricity subsidy by Rp 16.7 trillion to Rp 54.5 trillion from Rp 37.8 trillion previously.(*)