PLN records huge loss in the first semester

State owned electricity firm PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) recorded a huge loss of Rp 10.5 trillion in the first semester of the year, a reversal from a profit of Rp 14.5 trillion in the same period of last year, despite increase in sales.

The firm ascribed the huge loss to foreign exchange loss which amounted to Rp 16.9 trillion in the first semester of the year. In the first half of last year, the firm booked Rp 4.4 trillion in foreign exchange gain, the firm said in a statement, citing its unaudited financial report.

Sales rose by Rp 15.5 trillion or 18.1 percent to Rp 101.3 trillion in the first half of the year, from Rp 85.7 trillion in the same period of last year, thanks to the increase in the volume of power distributed to customers and selling prices. The volume of power sold reached 99.4 Terra Watt hour (TWh), up by 1,8 percent from 97.6 TWh, while its selling price averaged Rp 1,018.87 per kWh, up from Rp 878.44 kWh. The number of customers rose 6.82 percent to 59.5 million from 55.7 million.

As a result of the increase in the number of customers, the national electrification ratio has increased to 84 percent as of June 2015, from 80.1 percent as of June 2014.

Government power subsidy received by the firm dropped by 52.5 percent or Rp 30.3 trillion to Rp 27.4 trillion in the first half of the year from Rp 57.7 trillion in the same period of last year. The decrease in subsidy came as a result of the firm?s efficiency program and the increase in power tariff

Editing by Johannes Simbolon