PLN refuses to withdraw penalty for industrial customers

State owned electricity company PLN has refused to revoke the penalty or fine imposed on industrial customers using electricity above limit during peak hours, Kompas reported on Tuesday.

PLN's director for business and public service, Sunggu Aritonang, told reporters in Jakarta on Monday that the penalty would be withdrawn only if the prices of fuel declined.

"Like other companies, the sharp increase in fuel prices has significantly raised our production cost. The higher operation costs have prompted us to increase electricy tariffs," he added.

Industrial users have been required since October this year to pay a 20 percent surcharge if their electricity use exceeds the limit during peak hours (between 5 to 9 p.m.) as a penalty.

The association of Indonesian textile producers (API) has appealed PLN to withdraw the penalty or at least to reduce the amount of the penalty imposed on them, saying that such a penalty has posed a serious problem to their operations. (*)