PLN oil consumption down in 1st semester

State-owned electricity company PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN)?s fuel consumption declined by 25 percent to about 4.5 million kiloliters in the first semester of the year from about 6 million kiloliters in the same period of last year, Kontan reported on Monday.

PLN?s President Director Fahmi Mochtar said in Jakarta last week that besides the increased use of coal and gas especially in the Muara Tawar power plant in Bekasi, the fall in oil consumption was also caused by the "optimization" of hydropower plants and geothermal power plants.

However, the company?s spending for coal and gas showed an increase during the period.

In the January to June period, the volume of coal used by PLN rose to 10.8 million tons from 10.5 million tons in the first semester of last year, while the volume of gas used by the company also rose to 120.84 billion British thermal unit (BBTU) from 97.5 BBTU. (*)