Paiton Energy provides Electricity for Java-Bali grid
Tuesday, March 20 2001 - 10:00 AM WIB
PT Paiton Energy said Tuesday that it has recently started to provide 1,000 megawatts of electricity to state-owned PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara for Java-Bali grid.
Paiton said the electricity is enough to provide power to around 8 million households in east and central Java.
Paiton Energy operates a 120-megawatts power plant in East Java.
The company is renegotiating its electricity sales contract with PLN, which demands Paiton to cut the cost of its electricity.
The Indonesian rupiah's sharp depreciation against the dollar since late 1997 has devastated PLN's bottom-line. The state utility sells electricity in rupiah but most of its operation costs, including electricity purchases from independent power producers, are in dollars.
An audit by the state auditor a few years ago revealed that Paiton Energy has inflated the costs of its project, which resulted in the high electricity costs. The company, however, had repeatedly denied this.
Paiton Energy's shareholders include the U.S.'s Edison Mission Energy, and Japan's Mitsui & Co.Ltd. (*)