PLN awaits Pertamina?s decision on investment for Dieng plant

State power company PT PLN said on Friday it was awaiting the government?s decision on the amounts to be invested by state-owned oil and gas firm Pertamina in the Dieng-Patuha geothermal power project in Central Java.

PLN president director Eddie Widiono Suwondo said Pertamina and PLN were expected to have 50-50 percent stake in the Dieng-Patuha plant.

He added the decision on investment in the project is expected to be made before April because the plant will have to start operation in that month as planned.

?In order to make all this happen, there needs to be agreement from lenders. And, lenders would be automatically there if Newco (new company) has been established,? Eddie told reporters after addressing a seminar on ?Indonesian Electricity: Policy and Options? in Jakarta.

Eddie said PLN had not yet got information on whether the US$80 million used by Pertamina for exploration activities in Dieng would be included in its stake in the geothermal power project. ?Hopefully, it would not,? Eddie said.

He went on to say no decision had been made on whether the $260 million the government will have to pay to US insurance company Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) will be treated as capital or loans. OPIC is the insurance guarantor of US companies managing the power project.

The Indonesian government and OPIC have been involved in a dispute since 1997 when the government scrapped the Dieng-Patuha power generation project due to the outbreak of the economic crisis. (*)