The electricity sale hike signals economic recoveryJakarta (ANTARA) - State-owned electricity company PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) reported that its electricity sales in the first quarter of 2022 rose 8.42 percent year on year to 65.42 terawatt-hours (TWh).
The uptick in electricity consumption sends a positive signal for national economic recovery, PLN’s executive vice president for corporate communication and corporate social responsibility (CSR), Agung Murdifi, said in a written statement issued in Jakarta on Tuesday.
"The electricity sale hike signals economic recovery. The recovery of public activities has boosted electricity consumption, particularly in the industrial and retail sectors,” he said.
The electricity consumption of the industrial sector in the first quarter of 2022 reached 21,953 gigawatt-hours (GWh), accounting for 33.56 percent of the total national electricity consumption.
Electricity consumption in the industrial sector swelled to 16 percent in March 2022 compared to 4 percent in the same month last year, Murdifi said.
Among all sectors, the textile industry accounted for most of the electricity consumption in March 2022 at 2.8 GWh, or up 14 percent. Meanwhile, electricity consumption increased 10 percent to 2.01 GWh in the iron and steel industry, 8 percent to 1.6 GWh in the chemical industry, and 7 percent to 1.4 GWh in the cement industry.
The electricity sale hike was followed by an 11.28-percent rise year-on-year in the supply of electrical power to consumers by 153,744 megawatts ampere (MVa) in March 2022.
PLN is making every effort to increase electricity consumption in the industrial sector through, among other things, captive power acquisition, which is a manifestation of the company's service support to meet the electrical power requirements of industrial customers that still operate their own generators.
PLN has continued to find new markets by focusing on several sectors including agriculture, husbandry, plantation, fishery, and fisheries sectors through the Electrifying Agriculture and Electrifying Marine Program.
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Translator: Sugiharto P, Suharto
Editor: Sri Haryati
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