PLN has opportunity to sell electricity in East Timor

State electricity company PLN has the chance to become an electricity provider in the newly independent Timor Leste, and in order to anticipate this possibility, the company should claim its assets in the former Indonesian province from the new government, Kompas reported on Friday.

Emir Moeis, a member of the Commission VIII of the House of Representatives (DPR), said in Jakarta on Friday that for such a purpose, the government should not give PLN?s assets as a grant to the new government. "The assets could generate funds that can be used to improve PLN?s financial condition," he added.

According to him, if the new government wants to operate the assets including power plants it self, it should buy them in reasonable prices.

He said that the upcoming visit of President Megawati to the newly independent country should also be used as a momentum to find a fair solution in dealing with the assets it left following the independence of the former Indonesian province.

Besides PLN, state owned oil and gas company Pertamina also still has assets in Timor Leste including fuel receiving warehouse, which is now still used by the oil company to distribute fuel in the area. PLN?s assets in the country are worth about Rp 185 billion. (*)