Inalum will Profit from Supplying Electricity to PLN, Minister Says
11 November 2014 15:42 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – State-owned Enterprises Minister Rini Soemarno said PT Indonesia Asahan Aluminum (Inalum) will not suffer losses from supplying electricity to state power company PT PLN. In fact, after conducting a review, Rini said Inalum will actually profit from the cooperation.
Rini's statement was made as a response to Inalum workers' rejection to the company's plan to supply 300MW of electricity to PLN. The workers said that the power supply will reduce Inalum's production by about 50-75 percent.
According to Rini, the production cost of Inalum's electricity is only US$1 cent, or about Rp 1,200 per kilowatt-hour (kWh). Meanwhile, PLN—who uses diesel fuel and gas to generate electricity—spends Rp2,500-Rp3,000 per kWh.
If could sell electricity US$9 cents for a production cost of just US$1 cent per kWh, the company can earn a profit of US$ 8 cents per kWh. The selling price is based on the price of electricity PLN purchases from Sarawak.
"If half of Inalum's electricity is sold to PLN, the profit could reach US$160 million," she said yesterday.
Rini said that that even with selling half of its electricity to PLN, Inalum can still produce aluminum. She guaranteed there would be no termination of employment.
Earlier, PLN president director Nur Pamudji said the 300-MW electricity from Inalum is equivalent to half of the power shortage in North Sumatra. "The electricity supply from Inalum will be allocated to new customers, such as hotels and factories, which are estimated at 500MW," he said last weekend.
With Inalum's supply, Nur is optimistic that the power crisis in North Sumatra will be resolved by the end of this year.
FAIZ NASHRILLAH
