PLN receives Rp 2.5 trillion for rural electricity projects

State owned electricity company PLN has received about Rp 2.5 trillion from the state budget to finance the company?s rural electricity projects, Bisnis Indonesia reported on Monday.

Nasri Sebayang, PLN?s Director for Construction, said in Jakarta last week that the funds would be used to finance rural electricity projects in 31 provinces. As of last year, the rural electricity program had covered 28 provinces, he added.

?With the Rp 2.5 trillion budget, we will be able to increase the country?s electrification rate by 2 percentage points to 75.3 percent at the end of the year from 73 percent at present,? he said. He hoped that all villages which have already owned public roads would be equipped with electricity lines.

Nasri said that a part of the funds would be used to develop cheap and low-cost power generation for 83,478 households in villages. ?For rural electricity outside Java, PLN will focus on solar power development,? he added.

In 2011 PLN received Rp 2.9 trillion from the state budget to finance rural electricity program, which rose sharply from Rp 571 billion in 2010. For this year, PLN had actually asked the government to provide between Rp 5 to 6 trillion in order to boost the rural electricity by 3-4%.(*)