NO GUARANTEE FROM PLN LIGHTS WILL REMAIN ON DURING FASTING MONTH

Banda Aceh, July 31 (ANTARA) - State power firm PT PLN overseeing Aceh said it cannot guarantee that lights would continue to be on during the upcoming fasting month in Banda Aceh and Aceh Besar, due to the very limited electricity energy capacity in these areas.

"We cannot guarantee that lights would still be on, because Banda Aceh and Aceh Besar need 36 megawatts (MW), while having only 30 MW," PLN General Manager for Aceh Aceh Zulkifli said here Thursday.

He made the statement at a PLN meeting with members of the Aceh provinvial legislative assembly here discussing the power crisis facing the area in the extreme west of Indonesia.

He said he would try to fill the 6 MW shortfall by repairing one generator of the diesel power plant PLTD Lueng Bata which can generate 6.5 MW.

"Let us hope that if PLTD Lueng Bata operates normally without any problem, the power system will be normal in Banda Aceh and environs," he said.

All in all, he said, Aceh needed 260 MW of power supply, while that of PLTD Lueng Bata reached only 30 MW.