PLN to increase power prices by 160 percent

State owned electricity company PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) will raise the power prices for consumers of higher than 2,200 voltage ampere (VA) by 160 percent in a bid to encourage them to use power more efficiently, Tempo daily reported on Saturday.

Newly installed President Director of PLN Fahmi Mochtar said the new prices would be applied to all types of consumers, including households, small-scale businesses and governmental offices, starting next month.

The consumers will pay for the new prices in April.

?With the new prices, we expect to cut (the costs of) the consumption of oil-based fuel (by PLN?s power plants) during peak load period by Rp 13.5 trillion,? he said.

He said PLN would hold a campaign to make the public aware about the new power prices next week.

Director General of Electricity and Energy Utilization at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources Purwono said the increases in the power price followed the Cabinet meeting?s decision to prevent subsidies for fuel and electricity from ballooning as a result of the sharp increases in crude prices.

The electricity subsidy stood at Rp 65 trillion annually, but the revised state budget for this year only allocated Rp 55 trillion in electricity subsidy, he said.

?This (the increase in power prices) aims to encourage the public to use power more efficiently that power consumption could fall by 20 percent this year compared to the previous year's,? Purwono said. (*)