State-owned power company PT PLN (Persero) has expressed interest in acquiring 50-percent stake in Pertamina Geothermal Energy (PGE). PLN president director Sofyan Basir said the plan has been approved by the Ministry of State-Owned Enterprises.
"We have met with the SOE Minister and the president director of Pertamina," he said yesterday.
According to Sofyan, though a joint-shareholding together with Pertamina, PGE can be more expansive in the geothermal sector, which is in line with the government's target to develop geothermal energy to provide 500 MW of electricity each year.
Sofyan said the acquisition of PGE will also cut the cost for supplying geothermal energy, because PLN will no longer have to make power purchase agreements with PGE.