PLN to import one million kiloliters of diesel oil

State-owned electricity company PT PLN will import one million kiloliters of High Speed Diesel (HSD) oil this year to meet the fuel needs of the company's diesel oil-fired power plants, Investor Daily reported Thursday.

PLN's director for power generation and prime energy Ali Herman Ibrahim said in Jakarta on Wednesday that the company would soon open the tender for the purchase of diesel oil directly from overseas market.

If realized, the import will be the first to be made by PLN which at present relies on state-owned oil and gas company PT Pertamina in procuring the fuel supply for the company's power plants.

The import would enable PLN to save about Rp 117.16 billion, or about 0.16 percent of the company's total operational spending.

At present PLN buys diesel oil at an average of Rp 5,202 from Pertamina, while the average price in the international fuel market is about Rp 5,189.52.

Meanwhile, director general of electricity at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources J. Purwono has expressed support to the PLN's move provided that "it is not against the existing law and it can really reduce the production cost." (*)