Growth of electricity demand may exceed this year's target

The growth of the electricity demand in Java and Bali may reach about 3.3 percent this year, surpassing the initial target of 1.3 percent, PLN's general manager for traffic control of the Java and Bali power grid, Muljo Adji has said.

"Based on the realization of the electricity supply in the first quarter, the total power demand for 2006 may increase to 104,863 gigawatt per hour (gWh), or an increase of 3.3 percent, far higher than the initial estimate of 1.3 percent," he was quoted as saying by Kompas daily.

According to him, it would be difficult for PLN to meet the demand because as part of the government's program to reduce the use of oil in the power production, the company would be only able to increase the power supply by about 1.3 percent.

He said that with the current fuel price of about Rp 5,000 per liter, PLN would need additional funds worth up to Rp 2.53 trillion to meet the 3.3 percent growth in the demand. It means that the government's subsidy of about Rp 17 trillion would not be sufficient enough to meet the higher than expected growth in the demand. (*)