Indonesia Sweetens Deal for Private Power Companies

Jakarta Globe, Janeman Latul

A pre-paid electricity customer topping up his account. The government wants independent power producers to build most of the new power plants in the second phase of its “fast-track” electricity project. (Antara Photo)

The government will scrap import duties on equipment needed to build power plants to encourage independent companies to build plants in the second phase of its “fast-track” electricity generating program.

A presidential decree to this effect, obtained by the Jakarta Globe on Thursday, was signed last week.

“The construction of power plants will be exempt from import duties and enjoy other facilities that will be regulated by the Finance Ministry,” the decree said.

However, one private sector energy firm interested in participating in the fast-track program said the government would need to offer more incentives to independent producers if it wanted them to build plants in the second phase of the program.

The ambitious $15.6 billion program calls for the construction of 82 new coal-fired, geothermal, hydroelectric, and natural gas-fired power plants across the country to alleviate chronic power shortages, with the plants expected to come online between 2013 and 2015.

The government hopes to entice independent producers to build the majority of the plants — 58 — and supply a total capacity of 4,262 megawatts of power. Many of the plants to be built by independent producers would be in remote, sparsely populated areas.

PLN will build the remaining 24 plants with a combined capacity of 6,415 MW.

Erwin Aksa, president director of PT Bosowa, a diversified business conglomerate involved in the energy sector, said that while he welcomed the presidential decree it was unlikely to be enough to encourage independent producers to get more involved in the sector.

“It’s a good start, but the power producers need more certainty because we’re not the only country in Asia that is trying to attract investors to infrastructure projects,” Erwin said. “Investors would first be looking to see whether our project offers a better return than in other countries. Incentives, including tax breaks and guarantees on land acquisitions, should also be included in the decree, to make the policy comprehensive and attractive.”

The decree also guaranteed that PLN would purchase electricity from independent producers involved in the “fast-track” program, with the details to be issued later by the Finance Ministry.

Currently, state electricity company PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara’s generating capacity is only sufficient to supply about 60 percent of national demand for electricity.

PLN buys electricity from private producers to partially meet the shortfall.

Independent producers have only recently been allowed to supply PLN with power. Previously, they were only permitted to supply large industrial users with factories located near their plants.

Jacobus Purwono, the Energy Ministry’s director general of electricity and energy utilization, said on Wednesday that the government planned to subsidize the cost of power PLN bought from private producers.

Currently, government subsidies on electricity force PLN to sell power at as little as 40 percent of production costs, and it has often demanded equally low prices from independent producers.

Low electricity prices and a lack of government guarantees on projects have scared many investors away from “fast-track” projects.

In the first phase of the “fast-track” program, which is still ongoing, PLN is building 14 new coal-fired plants.