PLN reports slower growth in electricity sales

State-owned electricity company PT. PLN said that electricity sales in January-September period of this year grew at a slower rate amid the current economic slowdown.

The company said that electricity sales only grew by 1.93 percent in the nine-month period of this year from the same period of last year, slower than the 3 percent target set for this year, Bisnis Indonesia reported on Monday.

The sales growth was also much lower than last year?s 6.23 percent, said Head of Commercial Division at PLN, Benny Marbun.

He said that electricity consumption in September only grew by 2.23 percent from August, with largest sales growth seen in the eastern part of Indonesia at 6.55 percent, while sales growth in Sumatra was 6.04 percent, and in the Java-Bali region only 0.97 percent.

He said that sales growth is expected to accelerate to 3 percent in the coming months in line with the government?s recent policy provide tariff discount industrial consumers, and the recent decline in the tariff of electricity for medium-scale industries. (*)