Businesses begin weekend shifts to save power

More than 300 manufacturers have complied with the government's new energy-saving regulations on weekend work since July 31, with state power firm PT PLN expecting the figure to pass 3,000 by mid-August, The Jakarta Post reported. The regulation, which requires manufacturers to shift up to two working days a month to the weekend, will also incorporate requirements for hotels and malls to use their own power generators for 10 hours per week, an official said. PLN director for Java and Bali, Murtaqi Syamsuddin, said 302 manufacturers made changes to their working days from July 31, as scheduled by the government. The changes had saved 95 megawatts of power on the first day of the new system, and 112 MW the following day. "The amount of power saved (on July 31 and August 1) was lower than our target, but we are optimistic this will continue to increase," Syamsuddin said. PLN aims to save between 150 and 180 MW of power per day through implementation of the decree. The regulation, which was issued in the form of a joint decree signed by five ministers, is designed to reduce the power load during peak hours. Companies that operate 24 hours a day or seven days a week are exempt from the regulation. Murtaqi said PLN had 6,800 manufacturing companies among its clients in Java and Bali, but only 3,052 of these met the criteria set by the decree. PLN's ideal power reserve in Java and Bali is 40% of 16,500 MW, the total power consumption in the region during peak hours.