TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - State-owned power company PLN has expressed interest in acquiring 50-percent stake in Pertamina Geothermal Energy (PGE). PLN president director Sofyan Basir said the plan has been approved by the Ministry of State-Owned Enterprises.
"We have met with the SOE Minister and the president director of Pertamina," he said yesterday.
According to Sofyan, though a joint-shareholding together with Pertamina, PGE can be more expansive in the geothermal sector, which is in line with the government's target to develop geothermal energy to provide 500 MW of electricity each year.
Sofyan said the acquisition of PGE will also cut the cost for supplying geothermal energy, because PLN will no longer have to make power purchase agreements with PGE.
Sofyan did not say specify how the company would source the funding to acquire PGE. Sofyan also did not mention the budget for the acquisition, which is targeted for completion this year.
Pertamina president director Dwi Soetjipto said the PGE acquisition discourse depends on the due diligence and feasibility studies processes.
Meanwhile, the SOE Ministry of SOEs was unable to be asked to confirm this plan. The Energy Ministry's Director General of Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Rida Mulyana said that she "did not want to confirm rumors. It could just be something to test the water," she said.
DIKO OKTARA | ROBBY IRFANY