Complained about Price Hike; PLN Admits Lack of Communication

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The management of state-owned electricity firm PLN admitted their lack of clear communication with the public that recently caused mass complaints about the hike in electricity bills in line with the enforcement of the Large-Scale Social Restriction or PSBB.

The Corporate Communication and CSR Executive Vice President I Made Suprateka confirmed there was a modification in the bill calculation that was not informed well to the public, leading to complaints.

“We realize that we need better communication,” said Made during an online press conference in Jakarta today, May 6. For the solution, the state company pledged to build better communication with the public regarding changes in the bill charges.

Previously, many people turned to the Twitter account of PLN @pln_123, complaining about a significant increase in their electricity bill up to 90 percent.

Made clarified the electricity tariff was not raised but the hike was rather caused by changes in the calculation of the electrical meters and an increase in subscribers’ consumption. In March 2020, PLN used an average bill of December 2019, January 2020, and February 2020 since its officers could not directly check each house given the PSBB order.

Therefore, he went on, uncollectible bills in March 2020 were added to the bill in April 2020. As a result, the bill seemed to increase. In May 2020, the electricity bill will return to normal based on consumers’ consumption, Made said.

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