PLN quietly raises electricity tariff for industries
Monday, January 10 2011 - 01:48 AM WIB
The tariff hike ranging between 1.7 percent and 10.2 percent has angered owners of industrial companies but PLN said it was part of the planned power tariff increase approved by members of the House of Representatives (DPR) last year.
?The raise is part of the full implementation of the power tariff increase made in July last year,? PLN director for business and management risk Murtaqi Syamsuddin said.
As earlier reported, in July, last year, PLN announced its plan to increase the electricity tariff by between 20 percent and 30 percent. As the proposed tariff increase was opposed by businessmen, PLN agreed at that time to cap the price increase at 18 percent, the lower range of the proposed tariff increase.
Franky Sibarani, the chairman of the communication forum of the association of the national industries, said the rise in the power tariff drew a strong protest from businessmen, who feared that the tariff hike would further raise their production costs.
?If compared to the tariff before July, the rise in the tariff is between 20 percent and 30 percent,? he said.
Meanwhile Industry Minister MS Hidayat said that the increase was against the agreement with the government last year. ?As far as I knew, Coordinating Minister for the Economy (Hatta Radjasa) has sated that there would no power price increase this year,? he said. (*)