New PLN Head Vows to Resolve Issue of Power Cuts

Jakarta (Antara) - Newly-appointed President Director of state-owned electricity firm PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) Sofyan Basir has vowed to overcome the issue of power cuts, which plagues several parts of the country, in the near future. "In the short run, we will focus on overcoming the obstacle of power supply to several places in Indonesia, which has led to power cuts so far," he said in a press statement released on Thursday. In addition to finding solutions to the issue of power cuts, the government has assigned the new president director and the board of directors of PLN to resolve two other challenges, he stated. Improving the efficiency of PLN and increasing the capacity of national electrical power supplies are the additional tasks assigned to them. Furthermore, the government set itself the target of increasing the capacity of power plants to 35,000 megawatts in the 2010-2015 period. State Enterprises Minister Rini Soemarno appointed Basir as the president director of PLN, replacing Nur Pamudji. In her decision issued on December 23, Soemarno also appointed a seven-member board of directors, comprising Sarwono Sudarto, Nicke Widyawati, Murtaqi Syamsuddin, Supangkat Iwan Santoso, Amin Subekti, Nasri Sebayang, and Amir Rosidin. Both Syamsuddin and Sebayang are old PLN directors who enjoy the trust reflected in holding the posts of directors at the company. Moreover, Chandra M. Hamzah was appointed the chief commissioner of PT PLN, with Budiman, Hasan Bisri, Oegroseno, Sumanggar Milton Pakpahan, Darmono, Andin Hadiyanto, Harry Susetyo Nugroho, and Zulkifli Zaini as members. (*) Reported by Kelik Dewanto