Listrik Seeks $10 Billion in Financing for Capex Through 2015

PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara, Indonesia’s state utility, seeks to raise as much as 88 trillion rupiah ($10 billion) in financing through 2015 as it expands capacity to meet increasing demand for electricity. 

Listrik Negara will spend 310 trillion rupiah on capital expenditure over five years, of which 66 trillion rupiah will be spent this year, Finance Director Setio Anggoro Dewo said. 

The money will come from bond sales, new and existing loans and internal cash, he said.

“That is our mid-term plan,” Dewo said in a phone interview today in Jakarta, adding that some funding will come from the government budget. 

Indonesia, Southeast Asia’s biggest economy, is increasing domestic use of natural gas to make up for falling crude output from aging fields, which led to the country withdrawing from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries in 2008. 

Listrik Negara plans to build new power plants generating 23,525 megawatts of power to increase its total capacity to 55,484 megawatts by 2019, Dewo said. The plans to increase electricity costs to consumers by 10 percent from 2012 to 2013, and by 2.7 percent from 2014 to 2015, he said. 

Listrik Negara may consume 3.5 percent more natural gas this year as it reduces the use of oil as a fuel at its power plants, Nur Pamudji, primary energy director, said Feb. 25. Gas consumption may increase to 293 trillion British thermal units this year from 283 trillion British thermal units last year, he said. 

The plan will result in 150 megawatts of power capacity being switched to gas from oil, and reduce fuel costs by as much as $120 million this year, Pamudji said. 

To support the increase in demand for the cleaner burning fuel, Listrik Negara is considering building a liquefied natural gas-receiving terminal in Bekasi, east of Jakarta, with an annual capacity of 1.5 million metric tons, Pamudji said. 

Listrik Negara plans to raise its gas-fired power capacity to 21,000 megawatts by 2019 from 9,800 megawatts currently, Planning Director Nasri Sebayang said Feb. 24. Source: Bloomberg