The temporary assistance indicates the presence of the state (support), particularly to help those people who are suffering the most from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The COVID-19 pandemic has weighed on the cash flows of state electricity company Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) by creating an imbalance between consumption, income, and operating costs, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Arifin Tasrif said.

The pandemic led to a 7.06-percent decline in power consumption in June this year compared to January, he said at the PLN International Conference on Technology and Policy in Electric Power and Energy (ICT-PEP) 2020, in Jakarta on Wednesday.

Power consumption fell in eight systems, with West Sumatra recording a 7.12-percent decline, South and Southeast Sulawesi 7.68 percent, Bali 32.87 percent, East Java 6.33 percent, Central Java 6.28 percent, West Java 10.57 percent, Banten 12.82 percent, and Greater Jakarta and Tangerang 5.62 percent, he informed.

Overall, national power consumption grew 5.46 percent year-on-year in June, 2020; power utilization in the industrial and household sectors grew 41 percent and 37.45 percent, respectively, and played a major role in realizing per capita power consumption; while, the business sector (15.71 percent) and the public sector (5.84 percent) accounted for the rest.

One of the measures rolled out by the government to increase the purchasing power of households, industries, and businesses was the provision of tariff discounts to more than 33 million subscribers, Tasrif said.

“The temporary assistance indicates the presence of the state (support), particularly to help those people who are suffering the most from the COVID-19 pandemic,” he added.

To realize the principle of adequacy, the government has also made efforts to implement the national electricity needs plan, including ensuring the 35,000 MWprogram works, he said.

"In principle, reliability is closely related to (ensuring) the quality of power supply by taking advantage of (sensor) technology at power plants to make them more efficient," he added.

Related news: Government to issue new regulation on EBT-based electricity tariff
Related news: Govt clears Rp7 trillion of Rp45 trillion debt owed to PLN








Translator: Afut Syafril N/Suharto
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
Copyright © ANTARA 2020