Fly With Your Own Soul

Perkuliahan...dikit banget

2008-09-17T02:45:00.001+07:00

Mau tahu berapa mata kuliah yang harus dipelajari untuk membuat seorang Master, untuk hal ini memang Indonesia jagonya, di Inggris selama setahun gak lebih dari 7 (tujuh) mata kuliah yang harus dipelajari. dari tujuh itupun ada dua atau tiga matakuliah yang dipelajari selama dua semester. Hanya saja setiap mata kuliah mempunyai bobot 15 sampai 45 kredit, buanyak banget. Hal ini berlawanan dengan program master di Indonesia yang menganut banyak mata kuliah dengan kredit sedikit-sedikit, apa itu yang membuat orang Indonesia banyak tahu dan cenderung sok tahu ya ??? dan membuat orang di Inggris kurang tahu banyak dan tidak sok tahu ?? Sebelum perkuliahan berlangsungpun, buku-buku sudah diberi tahu dan jadwal sudah disusun dengan pasti, sehingga tidak ada cerita dosen (kata orang singkatan dari "dosa kalo absen") gak tepat waktu, dan mahasiswapun sudah dapat merancang-rancang liburannya.

Puasa dan problem perjalanan

2008-09-17T02:27:00.000+07:00

Memang benar apa kata Allah, bahwa jika kamu dalam perjalanan maka kamu dieprbolehkan untuk tidak berpuasa, kalaupun berpuasa lebih baik. Dalam perjalanan dari Cengkareng (bukan Sukarno Hatta karena singkatannya CGK bukannya SKH) diimulai jam 10 malam, sudah dengan perjuangan yang melelahkan, termasuk membawa segala macam barang-barang aneh yang tidak ada di Inggris, semacam pecel, goreng kering, belacan sampai baju batik, sampailah dengan selamat di atas kursi sempit (mungkin sebanding dengan harga tiket yang tergolong paling murah di kelasnya). Sambil terbang beberapa menu pun dihidangkan, dan terpaksa juga aku lahap, harap ini dimaklumi, bukannya karena di Indonesia gak ada makanan yang jauh lebih enak, tapi kan jarang-jarang bisa makan diatas kepala jutaan orang (di udara maksudnya). Bolak balik melihat posisi pesawat, eh seperti biasa, pesawat mampir dulu ke Singapura, padahal baru aja sejam terbang. Disini pun bukannya apa-apa cuma para penumpang dialirkan lagi ke pintu pemeriksaan yang ada di Changi, nampaknya orang luar gak percaya sama petugas bandara, sehingga harus juga di saring lagi di Singapura. Kita juga naik kepesawat itu lagi tentu dibangku yang sama dengan tetangga yang sama pula. Trus terbang lagi ke Dubai, yah kan yang punya Emirate orang Dubai, coba yang punya orang Yogya, pasti turun dulu di . Nah, turun di Dubai, kita dipersilahkan untuk melihat kekayaan yang ada di Dubai, dengan bandara yang luas dan nyaman, waktu itu jam menunjukkan pukul 9 pagi atau pukul 6 Dubai. Wah gawat juga ini, mana yang harus diikuti, puasa versi Dubai atau versi Glasgow. Kuputuskan puasa versi Glasgow, kalau jam 9.00 pagi biasanya di Glasgow masih pukul 3.00 , jadi rasanya masih sah buat sahur. Kucarilah penjual kopi dan snack, lumayan buat sahur puasa di Glasgow. Penerbangan lanjutanpun dimulai dan tiba di Glasgow pukul 2 siang dengan satu tas masih tidur di Dubai alias ketinggalan, petugas dengan sigap meminta maaf dan akan mengirimkan tasnya langsung ke Dundee. Ternyata puasa tidak sesederhana menahan lapar dan minum serta nafsu yang dapat membatalkannya.

Cheap Call Abroad From Indonesia

2008-09-10T20:10:00.001+07:00

Bagi temen-temen yang lagi di luar negeri, hal ini mungkin dapat mengurangi kerinduan keluarga yang ada di Indonesia.

Jakarta, 1 Februari 2008 – PT. Excelcomindo Pratama Tbk. (XL) memperkuat posisinya sebagai operator yang fokus dalam menghadirkan layanan yang berkualitas dan tarif terjangkau, dengan mengeluarkan promo tarif telepon Rp 10/detik dan Rp 350/SMSuntuk menelponke 10 negara tujuan : Malaysia, Singapura, Taiwan, China, Hongkong, Korea Selatan, Australia, Amerika, India dan Inggris.Dan tarif Rp 50/detik dan Rp 499/SMS ke 41 negara lainnya. Tarif promo ini akan berlaku mulai 1 Februari – 31 Juli 2008 untuk seluruh pelanggan XL(XLbebas, XL Jempol dan XL Xplor). Direktur Marketing XL Nicanor V. Santiago mengatakan, ”Tarif baru ini merupakan salah satu wujud komitmen kami untuk memperkuat posisi kami sebagai penyedia jasa telekomunikasi yang menghadirkan tarif murah dan hemat.” Tarif promo yang ditawarkan tersebut sudah termasuk PPN, namun belum termasuk PPN untuk tarif SMS internasional bagi pelanggan XL Xplor. Cara menikmati tarif ini mudah, pelanggan cukup

tekan 01000+kode negara+nomor tujuan.

41 Negara Tujuan (di luar 10 negara) 1 Oman 12 Italia 23 Spanyol 34 Denmark 2 Qatar 13 Thailand 24 Selandia Baru 35 Portugal 3 Jordan 14 Jerman 25 Belgia 36 Kamerun 4 Kuwait 15 Jepang 26 Austria 37 Maroko 5 Syria 16 Perancis 27 Yunani 38 Afrika Selatan 6 Bahrain 17 Nigeria 28 Swiss 39 Uzbekistan 7 Brunei Darussalam 18 Pakistan 29 Kanada 40 Saudi Arabia 8 Belanda 19 Russia 30 Turki 41 Bangladesh 9 Mesir 20 Norwegia 31 Sri Lanka 10Emirat Arab 21 Vietnam 32 Hungaria 11 Filipina 22 Swedia 33 Finlandia Saat ini, selain meluncurkan tarif murah untuk berkomunikasi ke luar negeri, XL juga telah memberikan tarif murah untuk berkomunikasi ke lebih dari seratus juta nomor (sesama XL, operator lain dan PSTN) di seluruh Indonesia. Pelanggan XL Xplor dapat menikmati tarif telepon murah ke sesama XLXL (operator lain dan PSTN) Rp 23/detik di 3 menit pertama dan Rp 9/detik di menit berikutnya (tarif belum termasuk PPN 10%). Sementara penggun XL bebas dapat menikmati tarif telepon murah Rp 0,1/detik setelah 2,5 menit ke seluruh nomor, dan tarif khusus Rp 35/SMS ke sesama XL (untuk pengiriman SMS ke 11-25). Rp.9/detik di 3 menit pertama dan Rp.1/detik di menit berikutnya. Serta non Nicanor menambahkan bahwa tarif promo ini akan melengkapi berbagai manfaat yang dirasakan oleh pelangganXLberupa manfaat berkomunikasi hemat melalui jaringan berkualitas XL, yang dikenal dengan kejernihan suara dan jangkauan luasnya. Saat ini jaringan XL diperkuat oleh lebih dari 11.000 BTS (2G/3G) untuk memberikan kenyamanan berkomunikasi bagi lebih dari 15,5 juta pelanggannya di seluruh Indonesia. Tentang XL XL adalah salah satu perusahaan telekomunikasi terkemuka di Indonesia. XL beroperasi secara komersial sejak 8 Oktober 1996, dan bisnis XL saat ini terfokus ke dua sisi bisnis yaitu Consumer Solutions sebagai penyedia layanan dan jaringan berkualitas dengan harga terjangkau melalui produk-produk inovatif XL prabayar dan pascabayar, serta Business Solutions sebagai penyedia layanan solusi korporat berbasis sirkit sewa (leased line), broadband dan IP (Internet Protocol). Pada 21 September 2006, XL telah meluncurkan XL 3G, layanan telekomunikasi selular berbasis 3G pertama yang tercepat dan terluas di Indonesia.

Lewis Switches Endorsement to Obama

2008-02-28T16:07:00.001+07:00

WASHINGTON (Feb. 27) - Civil rights leader John Lewis dropped his support for Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential bid Wednesday in favor of Barack Obama. Lewis, a Democratic congressman from Atlanta, is the most prominent black leader to defect from Clinton's campaign in the face of near-unanimous black support for Obama in recent voting.

He also is a superdelegate who gets a vote at this summer's national convention in Denver.

In a written statement, Lewis said Obama's campaign "represents the beginning of a new movement in American political history" and that he wants "to be on the side of the people."

"After taking some time for serious reflection on this issue, I have decided that when I cast my vote as a superdelegate at the Democratic convention, it is my duty ... to express the will of the people," the statement said.

Lewis' endorsement had been a coveted prize among the Democratic candidates thanks to his standing as one of the most prominent civil rights leaders of the 1960s.

"John Lewis is an American hero and a giant of the civil rights movement, and I am deeply honored to have his support," Obama said in a statement.

Clinton, questioned about Lewis during a satellite interview with Houston television station KTRK, said: "I understand he's been under tremendous pressure. He's been my friend. He will always be my friend. At the end of the day it's not about who is supporting us, it's about what we're presenting, what our positions are, what our experiences and qualifications are and I think that voters are going to decide."

Lewis first announced his Clinton endorsement in October and has appeared on her behalf on television and at events across the country, at one point accusing Obama supporters of trying to fan the flames of race against her. Clinton has frequently cited his support in trying to establish her credentials among minority voters, saying she saw her campaign as a continuation of his work.

But Lewis came under intense pressure to get behind Obama after his constituents supported the Illinois senator roughly 3-to-1 in Georgia's Feb. 5 primary, and about 90 percent of black voters statewide voted for Obama, according to exit polls. The support among black voters nationwide to Obama's candidacy mirrors Lewis' Georgia district.

His change of heart follows a similar move by Rep. David Scott, a black Democrat who represents a neighboring district. It also comes a week after the Rev. Markel Hutchins, a young Atlanta minister, announced he would challenge Lewis in the Democratic congressional primary this summer.

Hutchins, 30, has seized on Lewis' waffling in the presidential contest as evidence that the 68-year-old congressman is out of touch.

"Today's announcement by Representative Lewis was clearly prompted by political expediency," Hutchins said Wednesday. "It is time for a change. It is time to send somebody to Congress who is actually willing to represent the district."

Earlier this month, Lewis' office disputed media reports that he said he would switch candidates, or was at least reconsidering. But until Wednesday. Lewis refused to answer questions clarifying his position.

He said Wednesday afternoon he had called former President Clinton and Sen. Clinton but had not reached them.

Lewis' announcement comes on the same day as another superdelegate, Sen. Byron Dorgan of North Dakota, endorsed Obama, citing the presidential hopeful's record on trade.

The Obama campaign also said more than 1 million people have contributed to the campaign — a threshold crossed on Wednesday. Many donors have given $25 or $50, he said. The average donation is a little more than $100.

"We have funded this campaign at the grass-roots level," campaign manager David Plouffe told reporters on a conference call. "It's really built on the backs of the American people who are getting involved in this campaign. Most of the people giving us money are also volunteering."

Dorgan said Obama has supported key trade issues. "He and I feel the same way. We both believe in trade and plenty of it. We just insist it that it be fair to our country — the rules be fair."

NAFTA, the free trade agreement with Canada and Mexico, is unpopular with blue-collar workers whose votes are critical in the Democratic primary Tuesday in Ohio.

Obama has won 11 straight primaries and caucuses since Super Tuesday, increased his advantage in the all-important delegate count and has attracted the support of his congressional colleagues. On Tuesday, he secured the endorsement of one-time presidential candidate Sen. Chris Dodd of Connecticut.

Clinton has been endorsed by 13 of her Senate colleagues, Obama 10.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.

Duke Energy Orders 57,500 Smart Meters from Echelon

2008-02-27T05:57:00.003+07:00

Jan 23, 2008 11:40 PM

Echelon will sell Duke Energy 57,500 advanced meters--Echelon's first U.S. utility contract. The company is one of Duke's strategic partners in the development of Duke's "Utility of the Future" and is committed to providing Duke solutions that continuously support open standards and evolving networks and technologies.

This announcement follows Echelon's Networked Energy Services (NES) overseas installation of the world's first smart metering infrastructures in Italy in the early part of this century. Today, more than 27 million meters in Italy are networked using the company's power line communications and data concentrator products. Additional NES customers include utilities around the globe in Australia, Austria, Denmark, the Netherlands, Russia and Sweden. Echelon has shipped nearly one million NES meters to utilities throughout the world. All of these meters are based on the same core networking and metering standards being used by Duke Energy.

Bloomberg News cited how smart meters cut power bills by 10 percent in a study of 112 households released Jan. 9 by the U.S. Energy Department. According to the researchers, widespread adoption of the systems would save $70 billion in costs for new power plants and lines over 20 years. Meanwhile, an analyst at ABI Research in Scottsdale, Arizona said that as many as 45 million smart meters may be ordered by 2011. In addition, he stated that the number of smart meters installed in North America rose 26 percent last year to 15.8 million. By 2013, this will surge to 61 million, according to the research firm.

THE VALUE OF POWER FACTOR TESTING

2008-02-27T05:57:00.001+07:00

Nov 1, 2005 12:00 PM
by John Bleyer and Phillip Prout, National Grid

NATIONAL GRID DISCOVERED A HIGH POWER FACTOR DURING ACCEPTANCE TESTING of a new 40-MVA transformer in 2004. The unit was then returned to the factory for repairs, burdening both the utility and manufacturer with additional costs and delays. This article reviews the information gathered and lessons learned from this event, including testing and root-cause determination results from the teardown/repair process.

National Grid's electricity delivery companies in the United States serve 3.3 million electricity customers in New England and upstate New York through more than 1200 substations. As part of a substation expansion project, a 24/32/40-MVA, 115-kVD/13.2-kVY transformer was purchased and installed at a National Grid substation in New England.

The transformer was delivered to the substation. The radiators and bushings were installed. The unit was vacuum processed, filled under vacuum and tested by the transformer manufacturer's personnel. The following tests were performed at the substation after the unit was oil filled:

Transformer turns ratio on all taps
Insulation power factor of transformer and all bushings (C1 and C2)
10-kV excitation on all taps
Core ground and winding resistance
Oil quality and dissolved gas analysis (DGA).

The power factor of the high-voltage winding was elevated. The measured value of 0.58% did not meet industry-standard acceptable values or National Grid's required values. All other tests results were acceptable.

POWER FACTOR TESTING

Insulation power factor tests are used to measure dielectric losses, which relate the wetness, dryness or deterioration of transformer insulation. Both factory and field testing are performed to verify the insulation integrity of substation transformers. Power factor testing a two-winding transformer is conducted by energizing the winding at a known ac voltage (typically 10 kV for windings rated greater than 10 kV) with the common winding bushings shorted together.

The results of overall power factor tests on power transformers reflect the insulation condition of the windings, barriers, tap changers, bushings and oil. Modern oil-filled power transformers should have power factors of 0.5% or less, corrected to 20°C (68°F), for individual windings to ground (C_H and C_L) and interwinding insulations (C_HL). The National Grid transformer specification states that the power factor of the insulation system shall not exceed 0.5% at 20°C.

As part of the investigation into the high power factor, the transformer manufacturer retested the power factor with similar results. The high-voltage bushings were replaced and the unit was retested. The results did not change.

The unit was drained and an internal inspection was performed; nothing was found. The vendor performed a 24-hour hot oil and vacuum process to rule out the possibility of moisture in the insulation. The power factor was again retested and still had high C_H results. Both the seller and purchaser agreed that the unit should be returned to the factory for further investigation.

REVIEW OF INITIAL FACTORY TESTS PERFORMED

The results of the factory tests performed initially when the transformer was built were reviewed.

Temperature rise tests were acceptable.
Preliminary tests of resistance, polarity, phase relation, ratio, no-load loss and excitation current, impedance and load loss, excitation and power factor were all acceptable.
Dielectric impulse, applied and induced potential tests were acceptable, following IEEE guidelines, although enhanced voltage test results were elevated.
DGAs taken before tests and after OA and FA heat run tests were acceptable.
DGA results after high-voltage tests indicated a problem.

Due to the gassing, the unit had been drained, reprocessed and vacuum filled. The induced voltage test and DGA tests were repeated with acceptable results. The unit was shipped.

INDUCED VOLTAGE TESTING

The purpose of the induced voltage test is to prove the insulation strength between parts of the same winding and insulation to ground that was not proved during the applied potential test. It also proves the condition of the insulation between windings and between phases. The voltage applied during the induced voltage testing is on the order of 1.5 to 2 times the rated voltage. Weaknesses in dielectric design, processing or manufacturing may cause partial-discharge (PD) activity during this test. PD is generally monitored on all line terminals rated 115 kV or higher during the induced voltage test. A special generator with a frequency greater than 60 Hz must be used so the core does not saturate due to the higher-than-normal voltage that is induced in the windings. For most power transformer testing, this generator is 120 Hz, 180 Hz or 240 Hz. The induced voltage test is the final dielectric test. All class II power transformers shall be induced voltage tested with the required test levels induced in the high-voltage winding. The taps shall be selected so that the test levels developed in the other windings are 1.5 times their maximum operating voltage. The voltage is raised to the one-hour level and held long enough to verify there are no PD problems. The voltage is then raised to the enhanced level and held for 7200 cycles. The voltage is then reduced to the one-hour level and held for one hour. During the one-hour period, PD measurements should be recorded at 5-minute intervals on each terminal 115 kV and above. The test is performed with the neutral terminals solidly grounded; this will stress the insulation at the same per unit of voltage.

The test frequency is increased relative to the operating frequency to avoid core saturation per IEEE standard C57.12.90.

EVALUATION OF INDUCED VOLTAGE TEST

Per IEEE C57.12-2000, the following criteria shall be met:

Failure may be indicated by the presence of smoke and bubbles rising in the oil, an audible sound such as a thump or a sudden increase in test current. Any such indication should be carefully investigated by observation, by repeating the test or by other tests to determine whether a failure has occurred.
In terms of interpretation of PD measurements, the results shall be considered acceptable and no further PD tests required under the following conditions:
a. The magnitude of the PD level does not exceed 100 µV.
b. The increase in PD levels during the 1-hour test does not exceed 30 µV.
c. The PD levels during the 1-hour test do not exhibit any steadily rising trend, and no sudden, sustained increase in levels occurs during the last 20 minutes of the tests.
Judgment should be used on the 5-minute readings so that momentary excursions of the radio-influence voltage (RIV) meter caused by cranes or other ambient sources are not recorded. Also, the test may be extended or repeated until acceptable results are obtained.
Unless breakdown occurs or very high PDs are sustained for a long time, this test is considered as nondestructive. A failure to meet the PD acceptance criterion shall, therefore, not warrant immediate rejection, but lead to consultation between purchaser and manufacturer about further investigations.

DISSOLVED GAS ANALYSIS RESULTS

DGA of oil during factory testing will assist in determining if any arcing, corona discharge, low-energy sparking, overloading and overheating has occurred. The detection of gases greater than the allowable limits shall require further investigation. DGA samples should be taken before, during and after thermal performance and high-voltage tests to determine the amount of gas generated during testing. The limits listed in the table on page 58 are National Grid maximum allowable increases for gases from the beginning of any testing to the completion of all testing. Any results higher than those listed in the table would require further investigation.

BACK TO THE MANUFACTURER FOR RETESTING

As agreed upon by National Grid and the manufacturer, the transformer was returned to the manufacturer for inspection. The core and coils were removed from the tank, the high-voltage delta connection was broken, and single-phase winding power factor tests were performed with the unit on the drip pad.

DISCUSSION OF POWER FACTOR RESULTS

Treeing on the phase barrier board between H2 and H3 was found on the surface of barrier board at the base of the coils where the windings are the closest to one another.

The normal watts loss/power factor of H1 and higher watts loss/power factor on both H2 and H3 indicates the problem is common to H2 and H3 windings.

The barriers were then removed and retested, the H1 remained unchanged and the H2 and H3 watts loss/power factor lowered to the H1 values. This indicates that the contamination was related to H2-H3 barriers.

DISCUSSION OF INDUCED VOLTAGE TESTS BEFORE INITIAL SHIPMENT

The enhanced voltage test results indicated a normal level on H3 and higher level on H1 and H2. This appeared contradictory to what was visually found. Further analysis of the winding arrangement, location of the treeing and higher-than-expected micro-volt and pico-coulomb test results all indicated a problem at the base of #2 and #3 windings. This was because the H1 lead is connected to the bottom of the #2 winding and the H2 lead is connected to the bottom of the #3 winding stressing the bottom of the H2/H3 barrier board.

TEARDOWN, POWER FACTOR AND INDUCED VOLTAGE TESTS

The power factor testing during the teardown helped in identifying the location of the contamination. The winding design and location of the contamination accounted for the higher losses identified during the initial enhanced voltage test. We can assume the contamination caused arcing during the initial enhanced voltage test. The DGA results confirm that arcing occurred. The high voltage most likely burnt away the majority of the debris during the test and left a carbon tree. The subsequent oil processing and vacuum filling at the factory may have cleaned the area enough to partially cure the problem. Therefore, the second induced voltage test, prior to initial shipment, was acceptable and the DGA showed no arcing at that time.

LABORATORY ANALYSIS OF BARRIER BOARD

The transformer H2/H3 barrier pressboard was removed from the unit and brought to the Doble Materials Laboratory in Watertown, Massachusetts, U.S., for analysis. An initial visual examination of the pressboard showed that discharge treeing was quite distinct. An adjacent board was also inspected and there was no discharge treeing visible. The Doble Materials Laboratory was asked to aid in determining the cause of the discharge treeing in the pressboard. Unfortunately, the pressboards were not stored in a controlled environment at the transformer manufacturer after they were removed from the transformer, thus making it impossible to determine if moisture and metal particle contamination were present on the barrier board when the transformer was assembled.

FACTORY REPAIR

The top yoke was removed and the coils were un-nested. A complete visual inspection of the coils was performed. The barrier insulation, top and bottom insulation, and leads were replaced. The unit was reassembled and fully re-tested. All factory test results after the repair were acceptable and the unit was shipped. The unit was delivered to the substation, dressed, vacuum filled and tested by the vendor. All field test results were acceptable.

LESSONS LEARNED

It is important to set power factor limit for acceptance testing.
It is important to set DGA limits for factory testing.
Require reporting of all factory test results in the final test report.
Factory power factor testing should be performed before and after thermal/high-voltage tests.
Specification should include limits for the induced voltage test during the enhanced voltage period.
Specifications should include a statement similar to: "If the transformer fails any test, the purchaser shall be notified immediately. The purchaser shall be consulted about the failure, and based on the test results, the purchaser may require a complete retest of all tests."
Preservation of removed parts in controlled environments is essential when performing root-cause analysis.

In conclusion, there is great value in analyzing all test results, as each test represents a different component that verifies the design and manufacturing process. All test results should be reviewed prior to releasing a transformer for shipment. National Grid believes there is value in performing a power factor test before and after factory testing. In this case, induced voltage testing was acceptable but power factor testing revealed a problem. Final power factor test results also will assist the purchaser when performing field acceptance testing. The manufacturer who supplied this transformer now performs power factor tests before and after high-voltage testing.

John Bleyer is a senior substation equipment maintenance engineer at National Grid. He graduated from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in 1986 with a BSEE degree. Bleyer provides technical support to substation field operations personnel in the New England area. He has more than 15 years of experience in substation maintenance and design. JOHN.BLEYER@us.ngrid.com

Phillip Prout is lead senior maintenance engineer at National Grid in the Substation O&M Services group located in Massachusetts. He is a 1986 graduate of Wentworth Institute of Technology from the mechanical engineering program. He has 15 years of field experience, including 10 years as a substation supervisor. He is currently the chairperson on the Doble Insulating Materials Committee. PHILLIP.PROUT@us.ngrid.com

Insulation Tested	% Power Factor Corrected to 20°C
C_H	0.58
C_L	0.21
C_HL(UST)	0.15
Oil	0.02
Power factor acceptance test.

Insulation Tested	% Power Factor Corrected to 20°C
C_H	0.21
C_L	0.18
C_HL(UST)	0.14
Initial factory power factor testing prior to high-voltage testing.

Kv P-P	% of Enhancement	Time (min)	H1		H2		H3
			pC	uV	pC	uV	pC	uV
0	0		0	9	0	12	0	11
52	25		0	9	0	12	0	11
104	50		5	9	5	12	0	11
156	75		19	13	20	17	0	11
208	100		478	250	581	700	34	35
182	87.5	0-60	5-20	16-50	0-8	23-40	0-5	20-35
Factory-induced voltage testing dated April 26, 2004, prior to shipment. (Enhanced 120L-G/208P-P — One Hour 105L-G/182P-P)

Date	4/24/04	4/25/04	4/26/04	4/26/04	Test Limits
Note	Before all tests	After OA Heat Run	After FA Heat Run	After all Tests
Hydrogen	1	8	8	16	10
Methane	0	0	0	0	5
Ethane	0	0	0	0	2
Ethylene	0	0	0	1	2
Acetylene	0	0	0	5	0
Carbon Monoxide	4	20	48	67	30
Carbon Dioxide	25	62	149	153	300
Initial factory DGA test results.

Gas name	Gas symbol	ppm limit
Hydrogen	H₂	10
Methane	CH₄	5
Ethane	C₂H₆	2
Ethylene	C₂H₄	2
Acetylene	C₂H₂	0
Carbon Monoxide	CO	30
Carbon Dioxide	CO₂	300
National Grid maximum gas limits.

Test #	Insulation	Test Connection			Mode	kV	% PF	Cap.
		Energize	Ground	Guard
1	CH1	H1	-	LV, H2, H3	GST	2.5	0.44	267.39
2	CH2	H2	-	LV, H1, H3	GST	2.5	1.95	227.30
3	CH3	H3	-	LV, H1, H2	GST	2.5	1.92	237.29
Power factor (PF) testing of transformer (115kV delta connection cut — on drip pad).

Test #	Insulation	Test Connection			Mode	kV	mA	Watts	% PF	Cap.
		Energize	Ground	Guard
4	CH1	H1	-	LV, H2, H3	GST	2.5	0.253	2.4	0.39	268.79
5	CH2	H2	-	LV, H1, H3	GST	2.5	0.212	2.4	0.45	220.90
6	CH3	H3	-	LV, H1, H2	GST	2.5	0.219	2.0	0.35	230.26

Executive: Regulatory Obstacles to Smart Grids Prevent Reliable Power

2008-02-27T05:53:00.001+07:00

Feb 25, 2008 1:40 PM
Galvin Electricity Initiative

To meet future power demand and provide quality, reliable electricity to American homes and businesses, policymakers and state regulators need to change the way electric power utilities do business now, Kurt Yeager, executive director of the Galvin Electricity Initiative, said last week.

Speaking before an audience of federal and state regulators, utilities and other industry players as part of a keynote panel during the National Electricity Delivery Forum in Washington, D.C., Yeager said that the future of the U.S. electric power system rests on our ability to take advantage of the technology available today and prioritizing the modernization of our unreliable, inefficient and insecure grid infrastructure.

"Our electric power system has been in a subprime mortgage-like era for decades," Yeager said. "There are no technological or economical obstacles to modernizing the U.S. electric grid, only policy and regulatory barriers that must be eliminated," said Yeager. "If states open up the electricity market and offer utilities incentives for integrating smart grid technology and giving consumers control of their own energy use, everyone will win. Consumers gain better service and a smaller carbon footprint while utilities gain much-needed upgrades and a system that is less vulnerable to cyber-attack."

During the panel discussion, Yeager shared some of the Initiative's key proposals that will pave the way for a more intelligent electricity grid:

The technology exists today to transform the 1950s-era grid into a smarter, reliable and efficient power system. To secure this future, state leadership is needed to remove the regulatory policy obstacles to smart grid development and implementation.

Utilities need incentives to drive grid modernization efforts. Utilities are compensated for selling more electricity, not for providing quality service or efficiency programs. States need to support "decoupling," or separating utilities' profits from their energy sales. Only then will utilities become motivated to offer consumers tools such as time-of-use pricing and smart meters that can reduce the escalating demand that is taxing our aging grid infrastructure, increasing emissions of dangerous pollutants. Consumers should be treated as individuals with individual needs. As with other industries that have been opened to competition and choice, given the option, most consumers will take control and reduce their energy use.

Renewable resources are an important part of our electricity generation mix, but they will not eliminate coal-generated or nuclear power. States should examine their available renewable resources for electricity generation -- solar, wind, geothermal, biomass, etc. -- and add them to their electricity generation portfolio. While the industry is addressing their greenhouse gas, waste and security issues, in order to meet our huge demand for electricity economically, coal and nuclear sources of electricity will remain the primary part of the generation mix. Carbon capture and sequestration has promise for yielding cleaner electricity from coal, but as a long-term goal, not a short-term solution. Since the volume of CO2 emitted by coal-fired plants that could be captured equals the amount of oil that is consumed in the United States yearly, finding a practical way to transport and store it is a complicated undertaking which is not receiving enough attention.

New transmission lines should be the last option. Technology currently exists to increase the capacity of the wires we have today. With the addition of "smart" electronic controls, transmission lines can run closer to their limits without risking overload. This will also minimize the major security and vulnerability risks that these extensive transmission networks pose to the nation today.

The National Electricity Delivery Forum is the preeminent national forum that examines and addresses the inherent infrastructure challenges and issues that impact electricity delivery. Sponsored annually by the National Association of Regulatory Utilities Commission (NARUC) and the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability (DOE), this forum addressed the role of U.S. electric power delivery in addressing the challenges of climate change, demand growth and energy security.

Transmission Line Conductor Design Comes of Age

2008-02-27T05:51:00.001+07:00

Jun 1, 2003 12:00 PM
By Art J. Peterson Jr. and Sven Hoffmann, National Grid

Deregulation and competition have changed power flows across transmission networks significantly. Meanwhile, demand for electricity continues to grow, as do the increasing challenges of building new transmission circuits. As a result, utilities need innovative ways to increase circuit capacities to reduce congestion and maintain reliability.

National Grid is monitoring transmission conductor technologies with the intent of testing and deploying innovative conductor technologies within the United States over the next few years. In the UK, National Grid has been using conductor replacement as a means of increasing circuit capacity since the mid 1980s, most recently involving the high-temperature, low-sag "Gap-type" conductor. As a first step in developing a global conductor deployment strategy, National Grid embarked on an overall assessment of overhead transmission line conductor technologies, examining innovative and emerging technologies.

Conventional Conductors

The reality is that there is no single "wonder material." As such, the vast majority of overhead line conductors are nonhomogeneous (made up of more than one material). Typically, this involves a high-strength core material surrounded by a high-conductivity material. The most common conductor type is the aluminum conductor steel reinforced (ACSR), which has been in use for more than 80 years. By varying the relative cross-sectional areas of steel and aluminum, the conductor can be made stronger at the expense of conductivity (for areas with high ice loads, for example), or it can be made more conductive at the expense of strength where it's not required.

More recently, in the last 15 to 20 years, the homogeneous all-aluminum alloy conductor (AAAC) has become quite popular, especially for National Grid in the UK where it is now the standard conductor type employed for new and refurbished lines. Conductors made up of this alloy (a heat treatable aluminum-magnesium-silicon alloy) are, for the same diameter as an ACSR, stronger, lighter and more conductive, although they are a little more expensive and have a higher expansion coefficient. However, their high strength-to-weight ratio allows them to be strung to much lower initial sags, which allows higher operating temperatures. The resulting tension levels are relatively high, which could result in increased vibration and early fatigue of the conductors. In the UK, with favorable terrain, wind conditions and dampers, these tensions are acceptable and have allowed National Grid to increase the capacities of some lines by up to 50%.

For the purpose of this article, the three materials mentioned so far — steel, aluminum and aluminum alloy — are considered to be the materials from which conventional conductors are made. The ACSR and AAAC are two examples of such conductors. Other combinations available include aluminum conductor alloy reinforced (ACAR), aluminum alloy conductor steel reinforced (AACSR) and the less common all-aluminum conductor (AAC).

Conductors of these materials also are available in other forms, such as compacted conductors, where the strands are shaped so as not to leave any voids within the conductor's cross section (a standard conductor uses round strands), increasing the amount of conducting material without increasing the diameter. These conductors are designated trapezoidal-wire (TW) or, for example, ACSR/TW and AACSR/TW. Other shaped conductors are available that have noncircular cross sections designed to minimize the effects of wind-induced motions and vibrations.

High-Temperature Conductors

Research in Japan in the 1960s produced a series of aluminum-zirconium alloys that resisted the annealing effects of high temperatures. These alloys can retain their strength at temperatures up to 230°C (446°F). The most common of these alloys — TAl, ZTAl and XTAl — are the basis of a variety of high-temperature conductors.

The thermal expansion coefficients of all the conventional steel-cored conductors are governed by both materials together, resulting in a value between that of the steel and that of the aluminum. This behavior relies on the fact that both components are carrying mechanical stress.

However, because the expansion coefficient of aluminum is twice that of steel, stress will be increasingly transferred to the steel core as the conductor's temperature rises. Eventually the core bears all the stress in the conductor. From this point on, the conductor as a whole essentially takes on the expansion coefficient of the core. For a typical 54/7 ACSR (54 aluminum strands, 7 steel) this transition point (also known as the "knee-point") occurs around 100°C (212°F).

For lines built to accommodate relatively large sags, the T-aluminum conductor, steel reinforced (TACSR) conductor was developed. (This is essentially identical to ACSR but uses the heat-resistant aluminum alloy designated TAl). Because this conductor can be used at high temperatures with no strength loss, advantage can be taken of the low-sag behavior above the knee-point.

If a conductor could be designed with a core that exhibited a lower expansion coefficient than steel, or that exhibited a lower knee-point temperature, more advantage could be taken of the high-temperature alloys. A conductor that exhibits both of these properties uses Invar, an alloy of iron and nickel. Invar has an expansion coefficient about one-third of steel (2.8 microstrain per Kelvin up to 100°C, and 3.6 over 100°C, as opposed to 11.5 for steel). T-aluminum conductor Invar reinforced (TACIR) is capable of operation up to 150°C (302°F), with ZTACIR and XTACIR capable of 210°C (410°F) and 230°C (446°F), respectively.

Further, the transition temperature, although dependent on many factors, is typically lower than that for an ACSR, allowing use of the high temperatures within lower sag limits than required for the TACSR conductors. One disadvantage of this conductor is that Invar is considerably weaker than steel. Therefore, for high-strength applications (to resist ice loading, for example), the core needs to make up a greater proportion of the conductor's area, reducing or even negating the high-temperature benefits. As a result, the ACIR-type conductors are used in favorable areas in Japan and Asia, but are not commonly used in the United States or Europe.

There will still be instances, however, where insufficient clearance is available to take full advantage of the transitional behavior of the ACIR conductors. A conductor more suitable for uprating purposes would exhibit a knee-point at much lower temperatures. Two conductors are available that exhibit this behavior: the Gap-type conductor and a variant of the ACSR that uses fully annealed aluminum.

Developed in Japan during the 1970s, Gap-type ZT-aluminum conductor steel reinforced (GZTACSR) uses heat-resistant aluminum over a steel core. It has been used in Japan, Saudi Arabia and Malaysia, and is being extensively implemented by National Grid in the UK. The principle of the Gap-type conductor is that it can be tensioned on the steel core alone during erection. A small annular Gap exists between a high-strength steel core and the first layer of trapezoidal-shaped aluminum strands, which allows this to be achieved. The result is a conductor with a knee-point at the erection temperature. Above this, thermal expansion is that of steel (11.5 microstrain per Kelvin), while below it is that of a comparable ACSR (approximately 18). This construction allows for low-sag properties above the erection temperature and good strength below it as the aluminum alloy can take up significant load.

For example, the application of GZTACSR by National Grid in the UK allowed a 90°C (194°F) rated 570 mm2 AAAC to be replaced with a 620 mm2 GZTACSR (Matthew). The Gap-type conductor, being of compacted construction, actually had a smaller diameter than the AAAC, despite having a larger nominal area. The low-sag properties allowed a rated temperature of 170°C (338°F) and gave a 30% increase in rating for the same sag.

The principal drawback of the Gap-type conductor is its complex installation procedure, which requires destranding the aluminum alloy to properly install on the joints. There is also the need for "semi-strain" assemblies for long line sections (typically every five spans). Experience in the UK has shown that a Gap-type conductor requires about 25% more time to install than an ACSR.

A semi-strain assembly is, in essence, a pair of back-to-back compression anchors at the bottom of a suspension insulator set. It is needed to avoid potential problems caused by the friction that developes between the steel core and the aluminum layers when using running blocks. This helps to prevent the steel core from hanging up within the conductor.

During 1999 and 2000, in the UK, National Grid installed 8 km (single circuit) of Matthew GZTACSR. Later this year and continuing through to next year, National Grid will be refurbishing a 60 km (37-mile) double-circuit (120 circuit-km) route in the UK with Matthew.

Westar Energy Publishes Comprehensive Energy Plan

2008-02-27T05:49:00.001+07:00

Feb 25, 2008 2:03 PM
Westar Energy, Inc.

Westar Energy, Inc., Topeka, Kansas, has published a comprehensive energy plan that outlines the company's plans to meet growing customer needs while operating in rapidly changing financial, environmental and political climates.

The plan is entitled "Meeting Our Customers' Energy Needs: A Strategic Plan for Uncertain Times." As outlined in the plan, Westar's strategy embraces state and federal policies encouraging greater reliance on energy efficiency and the development of more transmission and renewable energy sources. It also calls for deferring as long as possible constructing a new conventional coal plant, but maintaining existing coal plants and making substantial investments in them to improve their environmental performance. During this period of deferral, Westar will be vigilant regarding the development and costs of emerging generation technologies that are not yet commercially feasible. The strategy also would extend the operating life of existing nuclear generation.

"We are staying true to our mission as an electric-only utility with this strategy," said Bill Moore, Westar president and CEO. "We recognize and respect that there will be differences as to how best we should proceed. Nevertheless, we offer our plan as an invitation to engage in a constructive discussion with policy-makers and interested customers on the challenges we face together. It is intended to be an open, transparent disclosure of how we see our future. We hope it will be viewed as a useful contribution to broader policy forums where energy and environmental issues are considered and thoughtfully discussed."

Warga Sibolga Protes Pembangunan Menara SUTET

2008-02-27T05:40:00.001+07:00

27/02/2008 00:12 SUTET
Liputan6.com, Sibolga: Pembangunan tower jaringan listrik tegangan tinggi atau SUTET kembali menuai protes. Kali ini terjadi di Sibolga, Sumatra Utara, Selasa (26/2). Warga menuntut SUTET di kawasan mereka segera dipindahkan karena dinilai mengganggu keselamatan warga sekitar.

Warga yang memprotes pembangunan menara SUTET berunjuk rasa ke Kantor DPRD Sumut. Mereka meminta SUTE segera dirobohkan atau dipindahkan. Jika tuntutan tidak dipenuhi, warga berencana merubuhkan SUTET sendiri.

Wakil Ketua DPRD Sibolga Yusran Tanjung berjanji memanggil Pemerintah Kotamadya dan PLN untuk memindahkan tower SUTET. Namun warga belum puas. Mereka melanjutkan aksi ke Kantor Walikota Sibolga karena diduga pembangunan SUTET belum ada izin Pemkot Sibolga.(JUM/Chaerul Dharma dan Cuk Arbianto)

IELTS PRACTICE TEST

2008-02-27T04:39:00.001+07:00

LISTENING
TEST 2

TIME ALLOWED: 30 minutes
NUMBER OF QUESTIONS: 40

Instructions

You will hear a number of different recordings and you will have to answer questions on what you hear.

There will be time for you to read the instructions and questions and you will have a
chance to check your work.

All the recordings will be played ONCE only.

The test is in four sections. Write your answers in the Listening question booklet.

At the end of the test you will be given ten minutes to transfer your answers to an
answer sheet.

Now turn to Section 1 on page 2.

Indonesia Australia Language Foundation

SECTION 1 Questions 1-11

Questions 1-3

Complete the form. Write A NUMBER for each answer.

page 2

Request Form __ Example:Name: Answer:Lester Mackie Membership No: (1) Mailing address:Fax No: 17 Westmead Road, Annandale(2) Phone No: 02 579 6363after 5:00 p.m. (3) » Questions 4-6 Circle the correct answer A-Dfor each question. 4 Why does the caller need the literature?A for a student paperB for a newspaper article C for research D for general interest 5 weeks2 weeks CD 5 How long can the caller have the books after the date of posting? A 3 weeksB 6 weeks C money orderD cash 6 How will the caller pay the fees?A credit cardB cheque page 3Quetions 7-11 Look at the booklist below. Write in the boxes the appropriate letter (A, OL, or R) as explained below: available in the library A out on loan OL request from other library R Items Requested Example: ' AHallsworth, E.- G. (1978) Land and Water Resources of Australia nswer: A 7 Government publication (1984) Land Degradation in Australia8 Government publication (1993) Coastal Zone Inquiry Report9 Fisher, D.E. (1980) Environmental Law10 Raiswelt, R.W. (1980) Environmental Chemistry1 1 Burns, M. & Assoc. (1989) The Environmental Impact of Travel and Tourism SECTION 2 Questions 12-21 P"K Questions 12-16 Label the library locations by writing ONE, TWO OR THREE LETTERS next to the list of places. Example:law library Answer:A B Floors 9 A 8 B 7 C information desk, maps 6 D 5 E 4 J 4 F 3 K 3 G 2 L Mathews building entrance 2 H Library Road entrance Mathews building annex 1 I library lawn entrance Main building loans and returns

social sciences and humanities library
multimedia and newspapers
physical sciences library
biomedical library

Quetion 17-21

Complete the notes of general information on the library

Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer

page 5

General Library Information

Eating, drinking and smoking are forbidden in the library
- Telephones are located on the first floor oi the main building
  Clocks are in the (17)
There are tour (18)
Toilets are located near the lilts
Women's toilets are on (19) floors
Men's toilets are on (20) floors
Wheelchair access toilets aie on floois (21)
SECTION 3 Questions 22-31
Questions 22-23
Complete the form. Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS OR A NUMBER for each answer.

Student Record Card
Name: Address: Student number:	David Simmons 15 Market Ave, Hornshy (22)

Prerequisites Completed		Screen Studies 18 credit points
Yes No / /	If no — reason (23)

Question 24

Circle the two examination dates.

JUNE JULY Sun 1 8 15 22 29 6 13 20 27 Mon 2 9 16 23 30 7 14 21 28 'I\ie 3 10 17 24 1 8 15 22 29 Wed 4 1 1 18 25 2 9 16 23 30 Thu 5 12 19 26 3 10 17 24 31 Fri, 6 13 20 27 4 II 18 25 Sat 7 14 21 28 5 12 19 26 Questions 25-29 Circle the correct answer A-D 25 Dr Richardson explains that the set exercises A require reference to a wide range of resources U should be at least 250 words in length C focus on key terms and concepts in media studies I) do not have fixed answers 26 Dr Richardson explains that essays one and twoA are to be the same length B should both be analytical C both emphasise studies of audiences I) should be especially easy for David page 7 How does Dr Richardson describe each of the assignments? Complete the table by writing ONE OR TWO appropriate letters (M, T, A or J) as explained below: mechanical Manalytical A theoreticaljournalistic TJ Assignment Description Set exercises (27) Assignment 1 (28) Assignment 2 A Assignment 3 (29) Questions 30-31 Circle the correct answer. 30 Which two time slots does Dr Richardson suggest David use for his essay?A the six o'clock and the mid-morning B the breakfast and the six o'clockC the mid-morning and the midnightD the midday and the ten o'clock Write the answer using NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS 31 What will David do before he decides which part of the programs to use? SECTION 4 Questions 32-40 Questions 32-10 Complete the summary. Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer. page 9 Coastal Zone Inquiry ExampleSpeaker: AnswerKevin Ackroyd BACKGROUND: Problem: pressure on (32) This pressure caused by (33) Contributing factors: economic development

(34)
industrial expansion
(35)

Two factors that are particularly important:

• (36) likely to continue

• industry, especially tourism which competes with
(37) farming industries

CONCLUSIONS:

Need to • raise profile of coastal zone

• exercise greater vision

• (38)

RECOMMENDATIONS:

Need for • long-term view

broad view
modern (39)
consultation with (40)

there is no answer key to

LISTENING EXERCISE 3

Check your notes to this exercise against the
transcript (page 75)

Practice Listening Test 2

section 1

Questions I -I I

1 M 9301 274

2 863 5923

3 579 1857

4 B

5 B

6 D

7 R

8 A

9 A

10 OL

11 R

section 2

Questions 12-21

12 H

13 FG

14 G

15 CDE

16 J KL

17 lift lobbies

18 subject libraries / special libraries /

specialist libraries

19 even [number(ed)]

20 odd (number(ed)]

21 one (&) two / 1 (&) 2

section 3

Questions 22-31

22 9307568

23 (has/given) exemption / (has) practical

experience / TV/film/rnovie experience

24 25, 26 June

25 C

26 B

27 M

28 T A

29 J

30 A

3 1 collect a sample / collect sample programs

section 4

Questions 32—40

32 coastal environment / environment of

coast / natural resources / water resources

33 population shift / urban expansion /

population growth / expansion

34 ageing population

35 government policies

36 urban sprawl / urban expansion / growth

will continue

37 (intensive) fish / (intensive) shellfish /

(intensive) fish, shellfish

38 adopt national approach / nationwide

coordination

39 management and economics /

management, economic practices

40 people affected / people concerned

Warga Kepulauan Aru Dapat Listrik Tenaga Surya

2008-02-24T04:28:00.001+07:00

AMBON--MI: Pihak Kementerian Pembangunan Daerah Tertinggal (PTD) siap membantu lagi pengembangan Pembangunan Listrik Tenaga Surya (PLTS) di Kabupaten Kepulauan Aru yang sebagian besar masyarakatnya belum menikmati listrik dari pelayanan PT.(Persero) PLN setempat.

Tahun anggaran 2007 Kementerian PDT Memberikan bantuan 486 unit PLTS bagi 10 Desa di Kepulauan Aru. Kepala Badan Pemberdayaan Masyarakat(BPM) Kepulauan Aru, Arens

Uniplaitta, kepada ANTARA dari Dobo, ibukota Kabupaten Kepulauan Aru, Sabtu (23/2), mengemukakan, telah menerima surat dari Kementerian PDT bahwa tiga Kecamatan yakni Aru Tengah, Aru Utara dan Aru Selatan kebagian masing-masing mesin listrik berkapasitas 5.000 KW.

Begitu pun, Desa Miror dan Papakula, Kecamatan Aru Utara sebanyak 110 unit PLTS serta Desa Kajabi, Kecamatan Aru Tengah sebanyak 75 unit.

Arens mengakui, kepedulian Kementerian PDT mengenai listrik di Kepulauan Aru yang dimekarkan dari Maluku Tenggara, Januari 2004 disambut baik karena wilayahnya berupa Pulau-Pulau sehingga sulit dijangkau pelayanan PT (Persero) PLN yang mengandalkan PLTD.

"Kami sudah melakukan peta Desa soal pelayanan PLTD ternyata hanya sekitar 15 persen bisa dijangkau, sedangkan sisanya membutuhkan terobosan pengembangan PLTS, angin, air/ombak," tambahnya.

Pengembangan listrik, kata Arens, dibutuhkan masyarakat Kepulauan Aru untuk mendukung pengembangan sektor lainnya sehingga bisa mempercepat penuntasan kemiskinan di sini.

"Bayangkan, saat ini Kepulauan Aru memiliki sedikitnya 11.527 Keluarga Miskin (Gakin) dengan 57.735 jiwa dari penduduknya yang hanya 76.625 jiwa," ujarnya.

Ditanya tentang bantuan pemerintah pusat pada tahun 2008 untuk pemberdayaan Gakin, menurut Arens, sebesar Rp12 miliar ditambah anggaran

pendamping dari Pemkab setempat Rp3 miliar lebih.

Dana Rp15 miliar lebih ini dibagikan kepada Kecamatan Aru Utara, Aru Tengah dan Aru Selatan masing-masing Rp3 miliar, sedangkan empat Kecamatan baru masing-masing Rp1,75 miliar.

Anggaran yang ditransfer langsung ke rekening masyarakat itu dimanfaatkan untuk pembangunan infrastruktur dan memenuhi kebutuhan dasar

hidup masyarakat Desa.

"Terus terang tingkat kemiskinan masyarakat Kepulauan Aru yang dimekarkan dari Maluku tenggara, 7 Janauari 2004 masih tinggi sehingga saat ini dibuat peta angka kemiskinan sehingga program penanggulangannya tepat sasaran maupun tepat kebutuhan," demikian Arens Uniplaitta. (Ant/OL-2)

50% Pelanggan Listrik di Tolitoli Alami Pemadaman

2008-02-24T04:13:00.001+07:00

TOLITOLI--MI: Pemadaman listrik di Kabupaten Tolitoli, Sulawesi Tengah, kurun sepekan terakhir semakin memprihatinkan, sebagai akibat dari rusaknya enam unit mesin pembangkit milik PLN setempat.

Perusahaan negara ini terpaksa memadamkan 50 persen dari pelanggannya dengan interval waktu 10-12 jam pada siang dan malam hari. "Setiap hari lampu padam dan tengah malam baru menyala. Bahkan dari pagi sampai siang ini masih padam lagi," kata Wati (34), ibu rumah tangga di Jln Gadarmun Hangkiho, Kelurahan Baru, Kecamatan Baolan, Sabtu (23/2). Pemadaman tersebut hampir terjadi di seluruh kelurahan dalam kota hingga ke pelosok desa.

Akibat pemadaman tersebut masyarakat Tolitoli semakin resah terutama kalangan pengelola hotel, pelaku bisnis komputer, oulet seluler,

perkantoran, radio siaran swasta, dan pelaku bisnis lainnya yang usahanya sebgaian besar tergantung pada listrik.

"Biaya operasional kita sebagian besar tersedot ke biaya bahan bakar minyak, karena setiap hari kami harus menghidupkan mesin genset," kata Niko, staf pengelola Wisma Kawanua, di Jln Ladapi Tolitoli.

Ia menjelaskan, biaya operasional akibat pemadaman listrik meningkat tajam dari biasanya.

Saat pemberlakuan pemadaman dua pekan lalu hanya enam jam dengan jadwal pemadaman sehari padam sehari menyala, biaya yang dikeluarkan Wisma Kawanua hanya Rp50 ribu. "Tapi, saat ini meningkat hingga Rp150 ribu per hari,"

katanya.

Biaya tersebut, menurut Niko, hanya untuk membeli premium sebagai bahan bakar genset kapasitas 5.000 Watt. "Mau tidak mau, langkah tersebut harus dilakukan untuk menjaga kenyamanan tamu-tamu hotel," tuturnya.

Demikian halnya beberapa radio swasta niaga di Tolitoli. Sejumlah acaranya dan penjualan produknya terpaksa macet karena lebih banyak off air akibat pasokan listrik ke stasiun radio tersebut lumpuh.

"Kami terpaksa tidak bisa siaran karena seluruh perangkat siaran radio bergantung pada listrik," kata Awis, produser acara di Radio MCS 101,2 FM.

Manager PLN Cabang Tolitoli, James Lengkong, ST yang dihubungi terpisah, menjelaskan dari 10 unit pembangkit listrik yang ada di PLTD Tolitoli, saat ini enam di antaranya rusak sehingga perlu mendapat perbaikan serius.

"Dari 10 unit mesin kami, sekarang ini tinggal empat unit yang bisa beroperasi, dan sementara ini dalam proses perbaikan," kata Lengkong.

Menurut dia, akibat kerusakan enam unit mesin di PLTD itu, 50 persen pelanggan PLN terpaksa harus dipadamkan sehingga tetap bisa menikmati listrik meskipun hanya beberapa jam.

Saat ini, dari 5.900 Kilowatt (Kw) yang terpasang pada lebih 17.000 pelanggan di Kabupaten Tolitoli, PLN hanya mampu menyuplai 2.600 Kw. "Hanya setengahnya yang mampu kami suplai karena memang kondisi mesin di PLTD sudah sangat tua," katanya.

Lengkong juga mengatakan, PLN Tolitoli terpaksa tidak bisa memenuhi permohonan sambungan baru, termasuk pemohon penambahan daya yang saat ini jumlah masih berkisar 1.000-an. "Yang terpasang saja sulit kami penuhi, apalagi mau ditambah," kata dia.

Menurut Lengkong, masalah yang menimpa PLN di Tolitoli dewasa ini tidak saja memusingkan masyarakat belaka, tetapi juga perusahaan pengelola sekaitan dengan bebab biaya perbaikan yang meningkat sebab kerusakan banyak mesin pembangkit tersebut di luar dugaan.

Untuk memperbaiki mesin yang rusak, PLN setempat terkendala pada pesanan onderdil mesin sebab harus dipesan ke pabrik atau toko-toko penyedia onderdil di Pulau Jawa.

Total daya terpasang dari 10 unit mesin yang tersedia di PLTD Tolitoli berkisar 5900 Kw, namun dengan kondisi mesin yang sudah tua tidak bisa lagi dipaksakan mencapai kapasitas sebesar itu.

Manajemen PLN Tolitoli berharap masyarakat dapat menghemat listrik 50 hingga 100 watt setiap rumah. Jika penghematan ini dilakukan, akan terjadi penghematan daya sekitar 85 Kw. (Ant/OL-2)

Giliran pemadaman listrik Jawa Bali

2008-02-23T07:01:00.001+07:00

22 Februari, 2008 - Published 20:18 GMT

Pemerintah Indonesia menjanjikan pemadaman listrik tidak akan terjadi lagi di Jawa Bali setelah PLN mendapat pasokan cukup batubara.

Pemadaman listrik di Jawa dan Bali diberlakukan karena transportasi batu bara terganggu cuaca buruk.

Namun pengamat menyebutkan, meskipun kasus ini abnormal namun PLN sendiri menghadapi masalah finansial berat yang sulit ditangani pemerintah.

Tetapi cuaca buruk diperkirakan masih terjadi dan ditengah kesulitan finansial PLN sendiri, tampaknya pemadaman bergilir masih akan terjadi.

Masyarakat sendiri diminta untuk menghemat guna membantu mengatasi kesulitan pasok listrik ini.

Pembangkit listrik alternatif seperti angin, tenaga surya dan gas sudah dilakukan namun belum maksimal.

Tulis komentar anda di kolom samping dan jangan lupa cantumkan nama serta asal kota anda.

Nomor bebas 0800-140-1228 akan kami buka pada hari Selasa dan Jumat pada pukul 1830 dan 2030 WIB.

Pendapat anda kemungkinan kami edit untuk kepentingan editorial namun tidak mengurangi makna.

Brazil Has No Risk of Energy Blackout, President Says

2008-02-22T07:02:00.001+07:00

Jan 16, 2008 11:35 AM
Xinhua

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said Monday that the country would not have the risk of an energy blackout like the one that led to rationing for citizens in 2001.

According to Lula, several "rumors" have been raised on an eventual blackout this year, in case the projects to boost energy production in Brazil were not accomplished in time.

The president said that there would be enough energy to "provide sustainability for the growth" at which the government aimed.

The Ministry of Mining and Energy announced last week a series of measures to avoid energy rationing or blackouts, including inauguration of six thermal power plants in southeastern Brazil and a gas pipeline from Espirito Santo state to Rio de Janeiro.

In a radio address, Lula also highlighted construction of a hydroelectric power plant in the Amazon rainforest region, saying the plant would help stave off the risk of an energy blackout for "a long while."

Survey: Service Reliability is No. 1 Concern in Industry

2008-02-22T06:56:00.001+07:00

Dec 21, 2007 2:04 PM
Black & Veatch

Black & Veatch has announced the findings of its 2007 Strategic Directions in the Electric Utility Industry Survey, showing the industry's top issues remain similar to last year's survey results.

Service reliability continued to rank as the No. 1 overall concern, while the aging workforce moved up to No. 2 from No. 5 in last year's survey. Environmental issues remained the No. 3 concern and aging infrastructure declined to No. 4 this year compared to No. 2 in last year's survey.

The survey reports on the opinions, activities and future plans of energy companies in the North American power industry. It includes the inputs of nearly 400 energy industry executives, explores, identifies and ranks the relative levels of concern on a variety of issues facing the power industry ranging from the aging of infrastructure and workforce, to views on regulatory practices.

The Black & Veatch survey measures the level of respondents' concerns by offering a 1 through 5 scale of response intensity. For example, the 2007 survey results show that the level of concern over carbon emissions policy, service reliability, aging workforce and aging infrastructure increased.

"This is entirely consistent with the complex issues that we assist our clients in dealing with every day," stated Richard Rudden, senior vice president and energy industry lead for Black & Veatch's Enterprise Management Solutions Division. "These issues are critical to the successful planning and operations of any electric utility, independent power producer or regional transmission operator."

Approximately 82 percent of the survey respondents believe that global warming is occurring, and 44 percent of those respondents feel it is caused by human activity. In total, about 36 percent of all survey respondents believe global warming is real and is caused by man. Approximately 35 percent of respondents have a significant degree of confidence in the underlying climate change science compared to 42 percent who had low confidence in the science.

"These were surprising results. They suggest less support than we had expected for the science that underlies current and proposed climate change policy," Rudden said. "The results also illuminate the substantial differences in views between the United States and other nations participating in the Kyoto Protocols."

Seventy-two percent of respondents believe that some form of U.S. carbon legislation will be implemented by 2011. This is the same response level as the 2006 survey.

"Given the increased concern expressed by survey respondents over carbon uncertainty, and the heightened awareness of global warming in the media and with the public, one would expect this percentage to increase in our 2007 survey," said Rudden. "One explanation is that survey respondents may have expected some action in the U.S. Congress on this issue in 2007, which did not occur."

In addition, approximately 29 percent of survey respondents prefer carbon emissions cap-and-trade regulations; 14 percent a straight carbon tax; 8 percent a statutory physical emission restriction, and 49 percent a combination of the three approaches.

Demand for Energy Efficiency Powers North American Distribution Transformer Markets

2008-02-22T06:54:00.001+07:00

Jan 28, 2008 1:49 PM
Business Wire

The North American distribution transformers market expects stable growth, thanks largely to demand created by capacity addition and the need to replace existing distribution transformers. Most remarkably, utilities become highly energy conscious, and a large number of existing distribution transformers will be replaced with energy-efficient distribution transformers in the next few years.

New analysis from Frost & Sullivan, North American Distribution Transformer Markets, finds that the market earned revenues of over $2 billion in 2006 and estimates to reach $2.95 billion in 2013.

"The North American distribution transformer market is, to a large extent, driven by the utilities," notes Frost & Sullivan Research Analyst Krathika Belliappa. "Utilities and other industrial and commercial end users are expected to replace existing transformers, most of which have crossed their average life span, with energy-efficient distribution transformers in order to minimize losses and the total cost of ownership."

Utility spending on the transmission and distribution (T&D) upgrades hit an all-time high during 2006 and 2007. Investment in transmission and distribution is likely to exceed $9 billion and $7 billion, respectively. Investment among investor-owned utilities steadily increases, making up three-forth of the investment in the transmission facilities in the Unites States. Additionally, electric utility revenues continue to increase in all the residential, industrial and commercial sectors.

Despite promising trends, increase in raw material prices remains a critical restraint to the market's growth. As the prices of raw materials such as copper, steel and aluminum increase, manufacturers are forced to pass this cost escalation to customers. Moreover, with only few suppliers to choose from, the bargaining power of raw material suppliers is very high.

"The distribution transformer market is highly fragmented and competition is intense," says Belliappa. "Considering the minimal differentiation and lack of innovation, pricing becomes the key purchase influence."

Moving forward, it is vital to innovate in order to tackle the challenge of skyrocketing raw material prices. With the prices of transformers increasing and competition intensifying, it is imperative for manufacturers to differentiate and strategically position themselves in the market. This will help them retain/increase market share and carve a niche for themselves.

FERC Accepts Midwest ISO-PJM Transmission Pricing Plan; Rejects AEP Challenge

2008-02-22T06:52:00.001+07:00

Feb 1, 2008 1:41 PM
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has accepted a compliance filing on fixed cost recovery policies for pricing transmission service between the Midwest Independent Transmission System Operator, Inc. (Midwest ISO) and PJM Interconnection, L.L.C. (PJM) and rejected a complaint by American Electric Power Service Corporation (AEP) that challenged those policies.

The Midwest ISO and PJM, two broad multi-state regional transmission organizations (RTOs) that extend from the Atlantic coast to the Upper Midwest, filed an Independent RTO Pricing Design (IRPD) proposal that would continue to use their existing inter-RTO rate design to price transmission service between the RTOs to take effect Feb. 1, 2008. AEP's complaint challenged the justness and reasonableness of the rate design and advocated postage-stamp rate design for all new and existing high-voltage facilities in the combined Midwest ISO/PJM region.

"This order helps ensure regulatory stability on cost recovery rules necessary to encourage large investments in the power grid that will be recovered over time," FERC Chairman Joseph T. Kelliher said. "Existing transmission systems were built to serve native load, so license plate rates are appropriate in assigning those costs. When transmission systems are built to serve a broader market, broader cost assignment is appropriate."

Under the inter-RTO rate design that the RTOs propose to continue using, the cost of existing facilities is recovered from customers within the zone where the facilities are located. The cost of new inter-RTO facilities are divided between the two RTOs pursuant to their Joint Operating Agreement. The rate design for new facilities is important, FERC said, because it provides both incentives for construction and sufficient certainty for developers to obtain financing and build the projects.

FERC noted that it must consider a variety of interrelated factors in determining whether an existing rate design is just and reasonable. In reviewing transmission rate design within and between the two RTOs, FERC sought a reasonable balance among factors ranging from the original basis for constructing the facilities, the effect of the RTOs' planning processes, the nature of the agreements to form the RTOs, the cost impacts of the various rates designs, uses of the transmission system and the need for new infrastructure within RTO regions.

FERC also said that in this case, the vast majority of transmission owners (TOs) in both the Midwest ISO and PJM support continuation of the existing license-plate rate design. In addition, there is virtually no state commission support for AEP's proposal.

In rejecting AEP's complaint, FERC found the company had made many of the same arguments it had rejected in Opinion No. 494, in which FERC found that PJM's existing license plate rate design had not been shown to be unjust and unreasonable. (In a related order, rehearing of that decision was denied.)

In ruling on AEP's complaint, FERC noted that courts have found that rate design "is less a science than it is an art" and that allocation of cost involves judgment on a number of facts. "Because RTOs are formed as a result of the voluntary agreement of individual TOs to pool their resources, rate designs for RTOs may need to differ from those accepted for individual TOs. The Commission examined the issue of rate design for RTOs in Order No. 2000 and found that, although an underlying purpose of RTOs is to create integrated systems with benefits to all participants, license-plate rate designs may still be necessary," FERC said.

"We find that the existing inter-RTO rate design provides the appropriate incentives to construct new high-voltage facilities that perform inter-RTO functions (i.e. those built in one RTO that provide benefits to the other RTO)," FERC said. Regional expansion planning and cost-sharing for these cross-border facilities should be included as part of the RTOs' Joint Operating Agreement, and "there is no basis for us to conclude that the existing process is not just and reasonable."

Under a license-plate, or zonal, rate design, a customer pays the embedded cost of transmission facilities that are located in the same zone as the customer. A customer does not pay for other transmission facilities outside of the zone, even if the customer engages in transactions that rely on those zones.

Under a beneficiary pays approach, the costs of new facilities are allocated to load based on a computer modeling methodology, not zonal proximity.

Under a postage-stamp rate design, all transmission service customers in a region pay a uniform rate per unit-of-service, based on the aggregated costs of all transmission facilities in the region.

Energy Association Executive Argues for Transitioning to Market Prices for Electricity

2008-02-22T06:51:00.001+07:00

Feb 12, 2008 3:40 PM
Electric Power Generation Association

Doug Biden, president of the Electric Power Generation Association, today offered numerous reasons why extending price caps would ultimately lead to higher prices and less reliable service for Pennsylvania consumers. Biden made his comments in response to testimony today before the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee on Special Session House Bill 54, which would extend electric generation rate caps to January 2013.

Biden emphasized that extending caps on retail prices would require electric utilities to sell electricity at a loss. "This policy would increase the risk of investing in generating plants and other forms of electricity infrastructure," Biden said. "The end result would be more expensive, less reliable supplies of electricity for consumers."

Biden noted that power suppliers would likely add premiums to their prices to cover the risk that utilities would not be able to pay for the electricity. The uncertainty created by such a rate cap extension would also discourage generators from building needed new generation in Pennsylvania.

Biden said, "Wholesale electricity prices have been rising due primarily to higher fuel costs, not because of electricity competition." According to the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, since 1997, prices have increased over 180% for fuel oil, approximately 140% for natural gas and unleaded gasoline, and over 50% for coal. Biden said that energy prices have also increased due to rapid growth in demand for fuels from developing countries and increasingly stringent environmental requirements.

Biden noted that while price caps have been in effect since January 1997 for most electricity customers in Pennsylvania, ultimately consumers will have to pay the market price for electricity. Biden said, "The longer electricity prices are capped, the more difficult it will be to help consumers make the inevitable adjustment to market-based prices. Delaying the inevitable transition to market prices will not move Pennsylvania forward but instead will make the transition even more difficult."

Benefits of Dynamic Pricing in the Electricity Industry Quantified in Report by The Brattle Group

2008-02-22T06:47:00.001+07:00

Feb 19, 2008 10:43 PM
The Brattle Group

At the annual winter meeting of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) held yesterday, a whitepaper on the benefits of dynamic pricing in the electric industry was distributed by The Edison Electric Institute, the paper's sponsor. The paper, written by The Brattle Group, helps utilities faced with problems posed by aging infrastructure by laying out a methodology for quantifying the costs and benefits of implementing dynamic pricing and advanced metering infrastructure.

Ahmad Faruqui, a principal of The Brattle Group and the lead author of the study entitled "Quantifying the Benefits of Dynamic Pricing in the Mass Market," said the paper shows that properly designed dynamic pricing rates can yield substantial benefits to utilities and customers. Reviewing the large body of experimental evidence with dynamic pricing, Faruqui explained that depending on the specific rate design and enabling technology that is offered to customers, utilities can expect customers to reduce their demand during critical peak periods between 8% and 50%, with 20% percent being a reasonable median number.

Faruqui noted, "Customers that shift 20% of their load from critical peak periods lasting less than a hundred hours to off-peak periods can save approximately 6% on their monthly bills during the summer months. Over the long haul, additional benefits accrue from avoiding the construction of peaking generation plants." Faruqui cautioned that "benefits vary by utility and region, and care has to be exercised in not improperly extrapolating results across the country."

FERC Reforms Aim to Improve Operations of Organized Wholesale Power Markets

2008-02-22T06:40:00.001+07:00

Feb 21, 2008 11:53 AM
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) today proposed new rules to improve operations in organized electric markets, boost competition and bring additional benefits to consumers.

The proposed reforms, outlined today in a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) on competition, are designed to ensure just and reasonable rates and to remedy undue discrimination and preference and improve wholesale competition in organized markets. They address demand response and market pricing during a period of reserve shortage, long-term power contracting, market-monitoring policies, and responsiveness of regional transmission operators (RTOs) and independent system operators (ISOs) to stakeholders and customers.

The reforms follow a process that began when FERC convened a series of public conferences on competition a year ago and continued in recent months with thousands of pages of public comment on a June 2007 Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANOPR) on challenges facing organized electric markets.

"Today's proposal constitutes the next step, not the final step, in the process of improving competition in wholesale electric power markets," FERC Chairman Joseph T. Kelliher said. "We began this process a year ago, when we initiated a comprehensive review of the state of competition in wholesale power markets. We asked a broad range of market participants for their best ideas on how we can make wholesale markets more competitive. We placed no limits on this debate. The reforms we are proposing today reflect four areas of the competitive markets debate where proposed improvements were supported by the law, facts and economic theory. This order represents only the latest in a series of actions by FERC to strengthen competitive markets. FERC is continuing to evaluate other market reforms and we will act on them when ready. We are issuing this package today because we do not want to delay any of the consumer benefits from these reforms."

The specific proposals include:

Demand Response

Accept bids from demand response resources in their markets for certain ancillary services comparable to other resources.
During a system emergency, eliminate a charge to a buyer for taking less energy in the real-time market than it purchased in the day-ahead market.
Permit an aggregator of retail customers to bid demand response on behalf of retail customers.
Modify market rules to allow market-clearing prices, during a period of operating reserve shortage, to reach a level that rebalances supply and demand so as to maintain reliability while providing sufficient provisions for mitigating market power.

Long-term Power Contracting

Require RTOs and ISOs to dedicate a portion of their websites for market participants to post offers to buy or sell power on a long-term basis.

Improved Market Monitoring

Require each RTO and ISO to provide its Market Monitoring Unit (MMU) with access to market data, resources and personnel necessary to carry out its duties.
Require the MMU to report directly to the RTO or ISO board.
Expand the list of recipients who would receive MMU recommendations regarding rule and tariff changes, and broaden the scope of behavior reported to FERC.
Remove the MMU from tariff administration, including mitigation, and require each RTO and ISO to include in its tariff ethics standards for MMU employees.
Expand dissemination of MMU market information to a broader constituency, with more frequent reports.

Responsiveness to Customers and Stakeholders

Adopt principles for RTOs and ISOs to ensure inclusiveness, fairness in balancing diverse interests, representation of minority positions, and ongoing responsiveness.

FERC directed all RTOs and ISOs to consult with their stakeholders and make compliance filings that detail their plans for compliance.

FERC noted that while there are differences on the appropriate scope of the proposed rulemaking, the process was guided by the record in the proceeding and the need to undertake timely reforms.

As the proposed reforms are not the final effort to strengthen competition in organized markets, FERC encouraged each RTO or ISO to study whether further reforms are necessary to eliminate barriers to demand response. Any reforms must ensure that demand response resources are treated on a comparable basis as other resources.

FERC also ordered staff technical conferences. One technical conference will address proposals by the American Forest and Paper Association and Portland Cement Association et al. to modify the design of organized markets. A separate technical conference, to be convened by staff shortly after receiving comments on the NOPR, will discuss barriers to demand response in organized markets.

Finally, FERC encouraged each RTO or ISO to provide a forum to consider any specific proposals from consumer organizations or other entities to strengthen competitive markets.

Reduce Hazards When Working in Ice Storms

2008-02-22T06:27:00.001+07:00

Jan 1, 2008 12:00 PM
By Keith Kensinger, Kansas City Power & Light

Ice-covered tree limbs crashed onto power lines in the Midwest in early December 2007, leaving a million homes and businesses without power, according to Fox News. To get the lights back on, utilities from across the country sent line crews to Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma.

After restoring electricity to the Kansas City community in just a few days, Kansas City Power & Light (KCP&L; Kansas City, Missouri) sent crews to the harder-hit areas of the region. KCP&L sent 20 utility crews and 20 tree crews to western Kansas to help Westar and sent 6 utility crews and 10 tree crews to the St. Joseph, Missouri, area to aid Aquila.

KCP&L spent more than a week changing out cross arms, setting poles and hanging new transformers. When working in inclement weather conditions, safety precautions become even more important to our crews. To keep the linemen safe despite the frigid temperatures, the utility follows these six work practices out in the field.

Stay focused
KCP&L line crews meet for a safety stand-down at the start and end of every shift. During these meetings, the linemen learn who is working in their area, what voltages are involved, how to protect themselves from freezing temperatures and the importance of foul-weather gear. One of the phrases that we preach to linemen when they're restoring power following an ice storm is "be where you're at." This means that whether they're on a pole, in a bucket or on a ladder, they have to stay focused on their surroundings at that point in time. We emphasize that they need to focus on the present to get the job done safely.
Wear personal voltage detectors
In the daily safety meetings, KCP&L also reviews the use of personal voltage detectors, which linemen wear on their chests. These devices alert them ahead of time if a tree branch is lying on a primary or a chain link fence is energized. This is especially important when homeowners turn on their backup generators when the linemen are restoring power. If the homeowners don't follow the instructions, the linemen could get electrocuted when the generator fires up and energizes a fallen line. To prevent this from happening, KCP&L equips each one of its field personnel with personal voltage detectors to keep danger at arm's length.
Gain traction
During severe weather conditions, linemen can slip and fall on black ice. KCP&L used to minimize this hazard through ice-melt products, but for the last two years, the utility has equipped any outside personnel, from cable splicers to linemen, with Yak Trax. This product slips over the linemen's boots, and the steel studs on the bottom provide traction and extra gripping power.
Knock ice off power lines
Ice often encapsulates wooden poles and overhead lines, and any vibration can cause the ice to shake loose. If a lineman looks up when this happens, the ice can fall from the lines and hit the lineman in the face. For this reason, KCP&L linemen use fiberglass telescopic sticks, which range from 5 ft to 35 ft. The sticks, which are designed to open and close switches, can handle different attachments such as hammers. Linemen can use the hammers to chip away the ice and minimize the risk of falling on the pole or being struck by falling ice.
Protect your eyesight
Icicles can turn into daggers when they fall from overhead lines. To keep linemen safe, KCP&L equips all its linemen with a fire-retardant ski mask and safety glasses when they're working on restoring power following an ice storm. The safety glasses, which are tinted during the day and clear at night, wrap around the linemen's heads to keep foreign objects, tree branches and pieces of ice out of the eye.
Wear insulated clothing
To survive in the cold temperatures, linemen layer their clothing and wear insulated rubber boots that are qualified for 25 degrees below zero for a sustained period of time. They also wear three layers of gloves: a cotton liner, a rubber glove and a leather outer glove. Insulated rain gear helps block the wind, and two or three layers of cotton clothing with flame-retardant clothing keep them warm.

EEI President: Electric Industry Faces Transformation in Light of Climate Change

2008-02-22T06:23:00.001+07:00

Feb 15, 2008 3:11 PM
Edison Electric Institute

The electric utility industry faces a period of transformation as addressing climate change becomes imperative, Edison Electric Institute (EEI) President Tom Kuhn said this week in his annual "state of the industry" speech. Electric utilities are pursuing business innovation and technological advances to effect that transformation, Kuhn said.

"Today, the great challenge before us is the need to supply affordable, reliable electricity to a world that is growing both in population and standard of living, while at the same time moving to a low-carbon future," Kuhn said. "We believe the key to this challenge is technology. And many of the policy decisions we are making today will affect the kinds of technologies that are developed and how they are used."

Addressing the Wall Street financial community, Kuhn provided an overview of the industry as it grapples not only with reducing emissions from electric generation, but also with the need for new infrastructure in the face of increasing electric demand, greater costs for construction materials and labor, and an imperative for industry-led conservation and energy-efficiency programs.

Increased demand has led to strong financial performance on the part of utilities during the past five years, Kuhn said, with the EEI index of companies producing an average 20-percent annual return during that time.

Growth in demand has led to an acute need for more generating capacity and transmission infrastructure, especially in the most economically active regions of the United States where transmission bottlenecks keep costs higher and threaten reliability.

But the backdrop continues to be climate change and the need for reducing emissions, which Kuhn said will demand a careful but decisive approach.

"Realistic carbon reduction targets and harmonizing those targets with the development and commercialization of the needed technologies (nuclear, carbon-capture and storage for coal-based generation, natural gas and renewables) to reach those targets will be essential," he said. "An upper limit on the price of carbon emission allowances, an economy-wide focus, utilization of carbon offsets and meaningful participation by developing nations also will be very important."

Kuhn said the widespread commercialization of plug-in hybrid vehicles stands to play a significant role in reducing the carbon footprint, with electric utilities playing an important role. "A recent comprehensive study by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) found that the emergence of plug-in hybrids would result in significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and improve overall air quality with only a small increase in electricity demand. Plug-in hybrids have the further benefit of adding to our nation's energy security as well," he said.

Adding energy efficiency to utilities' portfolios of resources also will serve to reduce emissions while meeting demand, Kuhn said. "Energy-efficiency must be viewed as the equivalent of generation. In order to do that, we must develop new business models that enable efficiency to become a full-time business for utilities," he said.

Renewable resources have an important place in the mix as well, Kuhn said, and new transmission infrastructure will be needed to accommodate these sources so they can become viable.

Kuhn said traditional generation resources - coal, natural gas and nuclear - will remain important, both in maintaining short-term reliability and affordability as well as meeting future demand.

"I would encourage you to keep an open mind to the variety of solutions and the use of all fuel sources as you make decisions to finance new facilities," he said. "All options must be on the table if we are to make the transition to a low carbon future without major disruptions in the economy and our quality of life."

NERC Board Addresses Key Blackout Recommendation, Approves New Reliability Standard

2008-02-22T06:21:00.001+07:00

Feb 20, 2008 1:23 PM
North American Electric Reliability Council

The North American Electric Reliability Corp.'s independent Board of Trustees approved an important standard addressing a key recommendation from the U.S. – Canada Joint Task Force on the Aug. 14, 2003 blackout last week. Developed through a two-year, ANSI-accredited process, the standard, PRC-023-1 "Transmission Relay Loadability" is now mandatory in New Brunswick and Ontario and will move to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for approval in the United States.

NERC standards are designed to ensure the reliability of the bulk power system in North America by preventing system disturbances and enabling the rapid containment of these incidents when they do occur. The PRC-023-1 standard specifies technical requirements for setting protective relays – equipment designed to automatically protect transmission lines from damage during extreme system conditions – so that operators are better able to manage disturbances.

"Relay loadability has been a contributing factor in major system disturbances since 1965, and was a major contributor to the severity of the 2003 blackout," commented Bob Cummings, NERC's director of event analysis and information exchange. "Following the 2003 event, the industry completed a detailed review of protection system loadability to ensure relays will not prematurely operate during extreme conditions, thereby allowing operators enough time to make system adjustments. This standard makes the improvements made at that time both permanent and enforceable."

"The approval of this standard represents a major milestone in ensuring system reliability as we continue to follow through on the recommendations issued by the U.S. – Canada Joint Task Force," said Rick Sergel, NERC president and CEO. "We look now to federal authorities to quickly pass this critical standard."

New High-Voltage DC Transmission System Commissioned in China

2008-02-22T06:16:00.001+07:00

Feb 19, 2008 10:46 PM
Siemens Energy

After successful completion of the test phase, Siemens Energy commissioned the "Guizhou-Guangdong II" high-voltage DC transmission link (HVDC) on schedule at the beginning of January. About 3000 MW of electric power now flows from hydroelectric and coal-fired power plants in western China over 1225 km (760 m) to the urban and industrial centers of Guangdong province at a DC transmission voltage of +/- 500 kV. Siemens built the system together with Chinese partners on behalf of the China Southern Power Grid Company, a state-owned energy power supply company in Guangzhou. The value of the order for Siemens was over EUR100 million.

The burgeoning demand for power in China's urban and industrial centers requires the transmission of large amounts of energy over distances of several hundred miles or more. This is only technically feasible and economically viable using high-voltage DC transmission. China has increased the DC transmission voltage of future large-scale HVDC transmission links to +/- 800 kV, since China's demand for power is growing and with it the need for longer power transmission routes.

Siemens is building an HVDC transmission system between the province of Yunnan in the south west of China and the southern province of Guangdong together with Chinese partners, again for the China Southern Power Grid Company, Guangzhou. This system will be the first in the world to transmit 5000 MW of electrical power at a DC transmission voltage of +/- 800 kV. Siemens' share of the order volume amounts to more than EUR300 million. The system is scheduled to go into operation by mid-2010.

This 800-kV long-distance link is the fifth Siemens HVDC transmission project in China. The first was the "Ge-Sha" HVDC transmission link between Gezhouba and Shanghai (1200 MW, +/-500 kV over 1040 km or 645 miles). This system has been in operation since 1989. The second project "Tian-Guang" was implemented between Tianshengqiao in the south west of the country and Guangzhou (1800 MW, +/- 500 kV over 960 km or 600 miles) and has been in operation since June 2001. The third system "Guizhou-Guangdong I" between Anshun in the province of Guizhou and Zhaoqing in Guangdong province (3000 MW, +/- 500 kV over 940 km or 585 miles) has been transporting electrical power since the end of September 2004. Meanwhile number four, Guizhou-Guangdong II, went into service recently and is already playing its part in assuring China's power supply.

J.D. Power: Business Customers' Satisfaction With Electric Utilities Continues to Climb to a New High

2008-02-22T06:14:00.001+07:00

Feb 21, 2008 11:46 AM
J.D. Power and Associates

Continuing a steady upward trend since 2004, business customer satisfaction with electric utility providers has reached record high levels, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2008 Electric Utility Business Customer Satisfaction Study released today. The study's nationwide customer satisfaction index has increased from 690 points on a 1,000-point scale in 2007 to 697 in 2008.

The study is based on interviews with representatives of more than 13,500 U.S. businesses that spend between $500 and $50,000 monthly on electricity. Overall customer satisfaction is measured through six factors: power quality and reliability; customer service; company image; billing and payment; price; and communications. Businesses served by the 58 largest electric utilities in the United States report improvements in four of the six factors in 2008, with customer service and billing and payment factors registering the largest increases. Ratings for power quality and reliability and communications factors have also increased, while company image and price ratings have remained flat.

"Across the industry, utilities have made substantial gains in customer service and billing," said Alan Destribats, vice president of the energy utility practice at J.D. Power and Associates. "For example, providing a wide variety of payment options, giving customers electronic copies of billing statements and making customer service available 24 hours a day through utility Web sites are all particularly satisfying to business customers."

East Region

PPL Electric Utilities is the highest-ranking electric utility in the East Region with an overall customer satisfaction index score of 710. PPL has ranked highest in the region for seven of the past nine years. Other strong performers are Public Service Electric and Gas, FirstEnergy-East, Allegheny Power and Con Edison.

Midwest Region

For a second consecutive year, E.ON U.S. and MidAmerican Energy rank highest in a tie in the Midwest Region, each with an overall score of 728. Other utilities in the region with strong performances include Aquila, Consumers Energy and Xcel Energy-Midwest.

South Region

CPS Energy improves by 40 points and ranks highest with a score of 748. 2008 marks the first time that CPS Energy has ranked highest in the region. Other utilities with strong performances in the South Region include South Carolina Electric & Gas, Southern Company, Progress Energy and Tampa Electric.

West Region

Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) ranks highest in the West Region for a second consecutive year, achieving a score of 777. Other utilities performing particularly well in the region include L.A. Department of Water and Power, Salt River Project, Pacific Gas and Electric and Portland General Electric.

"Sacramento Municipal Utility District not only ranks highest in the West Region, but also earns the highest score of all the utility companies in the 2008 study, improving by 15 points since 2007," said Destribats. "In addition, SMUD leads the study in several key performance areas, with business customers reporting particularly high rates of outage call-backs, receipt of electronic billing statements, contact with members of the utility's senior management and awareness of SMUD's energy conservation and efficiency programs."

PLN Minta Dispensasi Gunakan Kapal Asing

2008-02-22T06:11:00.001+07:00

Penulis: Sopia Siregar

JAKARTA--MI: PT PLN (Persero) meminta agar diperbolehkan menggunakan kapal berbendera asing untuk pengangkutan batu bara. Pasalnya dengan jumlah armada yang dimiliki Indonesia saat ini, belum dapat menjamin ketersediaan pasokan batu bara bagi pembangkit PLN.

Pelaksana Tugas Direktur Pembangkitan dan Energi Primer PLN Fahmi Mochtar, mengatakan saat ini Indonesia hanya memiliki 9 kapal pengangkutan batu bara dengan kapasitas 60 ribu ton. "Idealnya 15 kapal sehingga ada kesempatan untuk melakukan kir," ujarnya.

Karena itu, kata Fahmi, pihaknya meminta adanya pengecualian bagi PLN. "Kita minta dispensasi untuk menggunakan kapal asing untuk bisa angkut batu bara ke PLN," ungkapnya.

Selama ini, menurutnya, pengangkutan batu bara untuk pembangkit PLN menggunakan pola kontrak terima di tempat. "Tapi kapal yang digunakan yang itu-itu juga," tandasnya.

Dengan diperbolehkannya PLN menggunakan kapal berbendera asing, ia optimistis stok batu bara pada setiap pembangkit dapat ditingkatkan hingga satu bulan ke depan. Saat ini, ungkap Fahmi, stok bahan bakar yang ada di setiap pembangkit rata-rata kurang dari satu bulan.

Lebih jauh Fahmi menuturkan, untuk menjamin suplai batu bara di masa mendatang, PLN tengah mengkaji kemungkinan pembentukan anak usaha yang bergerak di sekor pertambangan batu bara.

"Pembentukan anak usaha di sektor batu bara ini bisa kita lakukan melalui pola kerja sama operasi dengan perusahaan tambang (batu bara) yang ada saat ini atau dengan mengakuisisi tambang yang sudah ada," paparnya.(Pia/OL-03)

Kondisi Darurat Listrik Jawa-Bali Akan Diumumkan

2008-02-21T04:47:00.001+07:00

20/02/08 16:50

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Pemerintah akan mengumumkan kondisi kelistrikan sistem Jawa dan Bali dalam keadaan darurat, apabila sampai Kamis (21/2) defisit listrik mencapai 1.500 MW.

"Kalau defisit listrik membengkak sampai 1.500 MW, maka kami akan mengumumkan kondisi darurat," kata Menteri ESDM Purnomo Yusgiantoro dalam rapat kerja dengan Komisi VII DPR-RI di Jakarta, Rabu.

Menurut dia, kondisi kelistrikan sistem Jawa dan Bali memburuk akibat kapal pengangkut bahan bakar tidak bisa merapat menyusul cuaca buruk, sehingga mengganggu operasional pembangkit.

Sebelumnya, General Manager Pusat Pengatur dan Penyalur Beban (P3B) Jawa-Bali PT PLN Muljo Adji AG mengatakan, akibat cuaca buruk, operasi sejumlah pembangkit kemungkinan terhenti.

Sistem kelistrikan Jawa-Bali pada Kamis (21/2) diperkirakan mengalami defisit sekitar 1.000 MW.

"Dengan defisit sebesar itu berarti sistem Jawa-Bali sudah masuk tahap darurat atau kritis," katanya.

Muljo menambahkan, guna menghindari pemadaman yang meluas di Jawa dan Bali, mulai Rabu ini PLN meminta semua pelanggan mengurangi pemakaian listriknya sebesar 10-20 persen, kecuali industri yang listriknya buat kegiatan produksi.

"Kami juga meminta pelanggan yang memiliki genset agar mengoperasikannya untuk pemakaian sendiri mulai Kamis (21/2) besok, sampai kondisi darurat terlewati," katanya.

Menurut Muljo, sampai saat ini kondisi cuaca di laut Jawa masih belum membaik. Pada Rabu pagi ini kecepatan angin sekitar 35 km per jam dengan tinggi gelombang 2,5-3 meter.

Ia mengatakan, sejumlah pembangkit akan berhenti operasi bila kondisi cuaca masih belum membaik, antara lain PLTU Tanjung Jati (Jateng) akan berhenti operasi pada Kamis (21/2). Saat ini, dari dua unit pembangkit itu, hanya satu unit yang beroperasi dengan beban minimal 250 MW.(*)

Pemadaman Listrik Bergilir di Jakarta Mulai Kamis

2008-02-21T04:46:00.001+07:00

20/02/08 23:42

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - PT PLN akan melakukan pemadaman listrik bergilir di wilayah Jakarta dan Tangerang mulai Kamis (23/2) hingga Sabtu (23/2) terkait memburuknya kondisi kelistrikan di sistem Jawa-Bali akibat ketidakmenentuan cuaca belakangan ini.

Pemadaman selama tiga hari itu akan dibagi dalam dua tahap antara pukul 08.00 hingga 12.00 WIB dan 13.00 sampai dengan 17.00 WIB, demikian diungkapkan Kepala Humas PLN Distribusi Jakarta Raya dan Tangerang (Disjaya) Azwar Lubis di Jakarta, Rabu malam.

"Beban pemadaman sekitar 300 MW, kecuali Sabtu (23/2) karena pemakaian listrik memang turun," ujarnya.

Berbeda dengan wilayah lain, beban puncak di wilayah Disjaya terjadi siang hari yakni mencapai 4.700 MW, sementara pada malam hari hanya 3.900 MW.

"Karenanya, pemadaman dilakukan siang hari," katanya.

Azwar menambahkan, beban pemadaman yang mencapai 300 MW relatif kecil hanya 6,4 persen dibandingkan beban puncak yang 4.700 MW.

Saat ini, jumlah pelanggan di Disjaya mencapai 3,2 juta dengan 80 persen di antaranya golongan rumah tangga.

Pada Kamis ini, pemerintah berencana mengumumkan kondisi kelistrikan di sistem Jawa dan Bali dalam keadaan darurat.

"Kalau defisit listrik membengkak sampai 1.500 MW, maka kami akan umumkan kondisi darurat pada Kamis (21/2) besok," kata Menteri ESDM Purnomo Yusgiantoro dalam rapat kerja dengan Komisi VII DPR di Jakarta, Rabu.

Memburuknya kondisi kelistrikan Jawa dan Bali merupakan dampak kapal pengangkut bahan bakar yang tidak bisa merapat akibat cuaca buruk sehingga mengganggu operasional pembangkit.

Sebelumnya, General Manager Pusat Pengatur dan Penyalur Beban (P3B) Jawa-Bali PT PLN (Persero) Muljo Adji AG mengatakan, akibat cuaca buruk operasi sejumlah pembangkit kemungkinan terhenti.

Sejumlah pembangkit yang berhenti operasi kalau kondisi cuaca masih belum membaik antara lain PLTU Tanjung Jati, Jateng, PLTU Cilacap, PLTGU Muara Karang, dan PLTGU Muara Tawar.

Guna menghindari pemadaman yang meluas di Jawa dan Bali, mulai Rabu ini PLN meminta semua pelanggan mengurangi pemakaian listriknya sebesar 10 hingga 20 persen, kecuali industri yang listriknya buat kegiatan produksi.

PLN juga meminta pelanggan yang memiliki genset agar mengoperasikannya untuk pemakaian sendiri sejak Kamis (21/2) sampai kondisi darurat terlewati.(*)

PLN Padamkan Listrik Jawa-Bali 702 MW

2008-02-21T04:45:00.001+07:00

20/02/08 23:52

Jakarta (ANTARA) - PT PLN (Persero) telah melakukan pemadaman listrik bergilir di sistem Jawa-Bali pada Rabu malam dengan beban mencapai 702 MW.

General Manager Pusat Pengatur dan Penyalur Beban (P3B) Jawa-Bali PT PLN (Persero) Muljo Adji AG di Jakarta, Rabu malam mengatakan beban pemadaman tersebut sudah dibantu partisipasi penghematan pelanggan yang mencapai 300 MW.

"Pelaksanaan pemadaman dilakukan pukul 17.00-21.00 WIB," katanya seraya menambahkan puncak pada Rabu malam ini mencapai 14.314 MW yang terjadi pukul 19.00 WIB.

Muljo mengatakan realisasi pemadaman sebesar 702 MW itu terbagi menjadi di wilayah Jakarta dan Banten 288 MW, Jabar 187 MW, Jateng dan DIY 179 MW, Jatim 31 MW, dan Bali 17 MW.

Pemadaman tersebut terpaksa dilakukan menyusul memburuknya kondisi kelistrikan di sistem Jawa-Bali akibat cuaca buruk, sehingga menghambat pasokan batubara ke sejumlah pembangkit.

PT PLN Distribusi Jakarta Raya dan Tangerang (Disjaya) merencanakan pemadaman listrik bergilir dengan beban 300 MW selama tiga hari mulai Kamis ini sampai Sabtu (23/2).

Kepala Humas PLN Disjaya Azwar Lubis mengatakan, pemadaman listrik akan dilakukan dalam dua tahap yakni antara pukul 08.00-12.00 WIB dan 13.00-17.00 WIB.

Pada Kamis (21/2), pemerintah berencana mengumumkan kondisi kelistrikan di sistem Jawa dan Bali dalam keadaan darurat.

Sejumlah pembangkit yang berhenti operasi kalau kondisi cuaca masih belum membaik antara lain PLTU Tanjung Jati, Jateng, PLTU Cilacap, PLTGU Muara Karang, dan PLTGU Muara Tawar.

Guna menghindari pemadaman yang meluas di Jawa dan Bali, mulai Rabu ini PLN meminta semua pelanggan mengurangi pemakaian listriknya sebesar 10-20 persen, kecuali industri yang listriknya buat kegiatan produksi.

PLN juga meminta pelanggan yang memiliki genset agar mengoperasikannya untuk pemakaian sendiri sejak Kamis (21/2) sampai kondisi darurat terlewati.(*)

Al Fayed: Putri Diana dibunuh

2008-02-19T04:22:00.001+07:00

18 Februari, 2008 - Published 14:52 GMT

Pengusaha kelahiran Mesir, Mohammed Al Fayed memberikan kesaksian di London di London dalam penyelidikan atas kematian Putri Diana dan putranya, Dodi dalam kecelakaan mobil di Paris tahun 1997.

Al Fayed mengulangi tuduhannya bahwa kedua orang itu dibunuh oleh dinas rahasia Inggris.

Dia mengatakan, Pangeran Charles ingin membuka jalan untuk menikah istri keduanya, Camilla.

Menurut Al Fayed, Diana pernah mengatakan kepadanya bahwa dia hamil.

Dalam pernyataan singkat di luar pengadilan hari Senin, Mohamad al Fayed mengatakan, dia berharap kebenaran akan terungkap tentang yang terjadi dengan putranya Dodi dan juga Putri Diana.

Bukti

Al Fayed selalu mengatakan, dia percaya mereka dibunuh oleh kerajaan dalam upaya yang melibatkan dinas rahasia MI6 dan suami ratu, Pangeran Philip.

Wartawan BBC Daniel Boettcher melaporkan, sidang penyelidikan kematian Diana telah mendengar sejumlah kesaksian yang terkait dengan tuduhan itu.

Al Fayed yang memberikan kesaksian ditanya tentang bukti yang dia miliki untuk mendukung klaim itu.

Beberapa menit setelah sidang dimulai, salah seorang kuasa hukum mengatakan kepada Al Fayed, anda tahu bahwa anda berada di sini untuk memberikan keterangan, dan bukan untuk mendebat atau berpidato.

Al Fayed menjawab dengan mengatakan, saya tidak mendebat, dan saya membuat pernyataan jelas.

Penyelidikan oleh polisi Inggris dan Perancis menyimpulkan kematian Diana disebabkan kecelakaan lalulintas yang ditimbulkan oleh pengemudi yang mabuk.

Konvoi Nato dibom di Kandahar

2008-02-18T20:36:00.001+07:00

Ledakam bom di Afghanistan selatan menewaskan sedikitnya warga sipil dan mencederai puluhan lain, termasuk tiga serdadu Nato, kata polisi.

Ledakan yang tampaknya ditujukan ke konvoi militer Nato, terjadi di Spin Boldak, Provinsi Kandahar, tak jauh dari perbatasan Pakistan.

Sebanyak 40 ribu tentara anggota Pasukan Nato dikerahkan di Afghanistan untuk memerangi milisi Taliban yang bangkit kembali.

Sebanyak 15 serdadu internasional terbunuh di Afghanistan tahun ini, dan sebagian besar dari Indonesia.

Serangam bom di Kandahar hari Minggu menewaskan lebih dari 100 orang dan insiden ini diyakini sebagai serangan paling mematikan sejak 2001.

Warga memakamkan para korban serangan bom yang terjadi saat massa berkumpul untuk menyaksikan tontonan adu anjing.

Pemerintah Afghanistan mengatakan, sasaran serangan adalah seorang komandan polisi cadangan, Abdul Hakim Jan, yang tewas bersama sekitar 30 orang pengikutnya.

Gubernur setempat menuduh Taleban sebagai pelaku serangan, akan tetapi juru bicara Taleban mengatakan, serangan itu dilakukan oleh musuh-musuh pribadi Abdul Hakim Jan.

Hati-Hati Bagi Pengguna Kartu Kredit; Ada Penipuan Bergaya baru!

2008-02-12T04:50:00.001+07:00

Dari milis tetangga

===============================================================

Nama saya adalah Ns; saya adalah staff Management Information System

di PT. Primerindo, salah satu perusahaan yang berada dibawah payung

Citigroup. Terus terang, saya tidak menyangka telepon yang saya

jawab pada Jum'at siang, 29 April 2005 akan menguras lebih dari 60%

uang yang ada di kartu kredit saya.

Kejadiannya berawal dari seorang Sales dari PT. HotelIndo Mega

Pratama (Wisma Benhill 4th floor, 403 A-B, Jl.Jenderal Sudirman Kav.

36 Jakarta) yang menawarkan fasilitas menginap di berbagai hotel di

Indonesia melalui telepon yang ada di meja saya.

Dengan berbagai rayuan yang dilontarkan ke saya, yang ketika itu

masih saya tolak secara halus, diujung pembicaraan Sdr. Chndr meminta

saya menyebutkan 4 angka terakhir di kartu kredit beserta expired

date-nya.

Karena ketika itu saya tidak mengetahui modus operandi perusahaan

tersebut, saya memberikan begitu saja angka tersebut beserta dengan

expired date-nya.

Diluar dugaan, dalam waktu lima menit, lebih dari 60% uang yang ada

di kartu kredit saya ludes.

Dengan bantuan yang luarbiasa dari personil-personil departemen Sales

& Distribution Citibank, saya sedang berupaya mencoba membatalkan

transaksi yang terjadi tersebut. Ketika surat ini ditulis (Jum'at

malam, 29 April 2005), transaksi tersebut masih belum bisa

digagalkan.

Anda bisa bayangkan, saya yang pegawai Citibank, dengan dukungan

penuh dari pejabat dan pegawai Citibank, masih teramat sangat sulit

untuk membatalkan transaksi tersebut. Saya tidak bisa membayangkan

bagaimana dengan masyarakat biasa, yang bukan pegawai bank, tidak ada

yang membantu untuk menggagalkan transaksi semacam itu.

Maka dari itu, saya hanya bisa mengimbau, TOLAKLAH segala macam

modus-modus seperti itu; terutama penawaran dari PT. HotelIndo Mega

Pratama!! SEBARKAN!!

__________________________________________________

Warga AS di Jakarta Dukung Obama

2008-02-11T05:52:00.001+07:00

Selasa, 5 Februari 2008 | 11:49 WIB

JAKARTA, SELASA — Anggota Partai Demokrat di Indonesia melimpahkan dukungannya kepada Barack Obama, calon kuat partai itu. Mereka memberikan suara dalam Super Tuesday khusus warga Demokrat di luar negeri, Selasa (5/2).

Di Kamboja pemungutan suara dilakukan di toko donat, Irlandian memilih sebuah pub dan kafe Starbucks di Thailand diubah menjadi TPS. Sedangkan pemilih di Jakarta memanfaatkan rumah duta besar AS di Jl Taman Suropati 3, Rabu (6/2).

Saat yang bersamaan di lebih 20 negara bagian di AS menggelar pemilihan pendahuluan. Begitu banyaknya negara bagian yang ambil bagian, maka momen itu disebut Super Tuesday. Di luar negeri, Super Tuesday berlangsung selama tujuh hari.

Sedikitnya 6 juta warga AS di luar negeri yang boleh memilih. Namun tahun-tahun sebelumnya, hanya sebagian kecil yang menggunakan hak pilihnya. Selama ini, satu-satunya cara adalah minta kertas suara di tempat tinggal terakhir mereka di AS lewat surat. Lalu mereka tinggal menunggu apakah surat permintaan itu sampai ke komisi pemilu lalu dibalas.

Di Taman Suropati nanti, sebagian besar pemilih adalah pendukung Barack Obama, kandidat kuat Partai Demokrat. Obama pernah tinggal selama kurang lebih lima tahun di Jakarta mulai usia 6 tahun bersama ibunya. "Agaknya ada unsur masa lalu di sini. Ini kali pertama orang yang pernah tinggal di Indonesia mencalonkan diri jadi presiden AS," kata Tristram Perry, staf Kedubes AS di Jakarta.

Perhitungan suara tak resmi di Jakarta menunjukkan Obama mendapatkan 75 persen suara, sedangkan pesaingnya Hillary Clinton hanya mendapat 25 persen.

Banyak yang mengatakan pemilu 2008 ini memilih siapa saja yang bisa memperbaiki citra AS di dunia internasional. "Menurut saya itulah hal paling penting. Sudah delapan tahun kita dikendalikan pemerintah yang menghancurkan citra Amerika," kata Peter Gardiner (22), warga AS di Jakarta .   "Saya memilih Obama karena latar belakang Indonesia-nya. Ini akan memperkuat dia di kancah internasional," imbuhnya.

Kaum Demokrat Luar Negeri, yang diperlakukan sebagai negara bagian tersendiri, akan diwakili oleh 11 delegasi dalam konvensi nasional partai pada Agustus 2008. Para delegasi itu akan diseleksi melalui kombinasi pertemuan kaukus lokal, regional dan internasional.

Bagi kubu Republik, pendukungnya di luar negeri atau disebut Republicans Abroad bergerak secara independen sejak 2003, lepas dari induk partai. Dengan begitu tidak bisa menggelar pemilihan lewat internet. Mereka justru mengajak sebanyak mungkin warga untuk pulang dan mengambil surat suara yang akan dicoblos kemudian.(AP)

Jakarta Banjir, PLN 'Rugi'

2008-02-02T18:57:00.001+07:00

Penulis: Reva Sasistiya

JAKARTA--MI: Banjir di Jakarta membuat PT PLN (persero) Distribusi Jakarta dan Tangerang masih mematikan 552 gardu distribusi. Kerugian akibat pemadaman yang berlangsung sejak Jumat (1/2) itu diperkirakan mencapai Rp6,2 miliar.

Direktur Transmisi dan Distribusi PLN Herman Darnell Ibrahim, Sabtu (2/2), mengatakan kerugian sebesar itu merupakan potensi kehilangan pendapatan karena PLN tidak dapat menjual listrik.

"Tapi, kerugian ini tidak seberapa nilainya. Karena, di sisi lain biaya operasi kita juga ditekan sebab pemakaian BBM juga berkurang. Kalau dihitung berdasarkan biaya jual listrik yang sebesar Rp600 per kwH, sementara biaya pokok produksi kita Rp900 per kwH, jadi potensi kerugian tersebut tidak masalah," ungkap Herman.

Apalagi, menurutnya, bencana banjir yang melanda wilayah Jabodetabek itu sama sekali tidak berimbas pada rusaknya gardu yang dimiliki PLN.

"Gardu kita tidak ada yang terendam, tidak ada yang rusak. Jadi, kerugian kita kecil sekali," tambah Herman.

Sedangkan Manajer Distribusi PLN Disjaya dan Tangerang Moch Sulastyo mengatakan hingga kini masih ada 552 gardu distribusi yang dipadamkan. "Memang harus dipadamkan karena wilayah asuhan gardu tersebut airnya masih cukup tinggi atau masih banjir. Pemadaman akan berkurang seiring dengan surutnya air," jelasnya.

Berdasarkan keterangan Deputi Manajer Komunikasi dan Bina Lingkungan PLN Disjaya dan Tangerang Azwar Lubis, 552 gardu distribusi itu terdiri dari 103 gardu distribusi Gambir, 2 gardu distribusi Gambir, 36 gardu distribusi Kebayoran Baru dan 14 gardu distribusi Tangerang.

"Gardu distribusi Gambir itu meliputi wilayah Jakarta Utara dan Pusat, gardu Kramat Jati wilayah seputar Jakarta Timur, gardu Kebayoran Baru memasok untuk Jakarta Selatan dan Jakarta Barat dan gardu Tangerang untuk pasokan wilayah Tangerang," papar Azwar.

Besarnya listrik yang padam 400 Megawatt dengan jumlah pelanggan mencapai 138.000. "Jumlah ini sudah berkurang dibandingkan kemarin yang padamnya mencapai 600 MW. Jumlah ini juga sebetulnya masih kecil jika dibandingkan total beban di wilayah Disjaya Tangerang yang sebesar 4.700 MW. Jadi, hanya sekitar 8%," imbuhnya.

Pemadaman, menurutnya, harus dilakukan demi keselamatan warga didaerah banjir. Sementara untuk warga yang tidak kebanjiran, namun listriknya ikut padam, Azwar minta pengertian mereka.

"Ini menyangkut wilayah distribusi. Jadi kalau gardunya dimatikan seluruh wilayah tersebut ikut dimatikan. Demi keselamatan semua, PLN minta pengertian warga yang lain," katanya. Pada Jumat (1/2), PLN mematikan 1.114 gardu distribusinya. (Eva/OL-06)

Serikat Pekerja PLN Diminta Pahami Tujuan Restrukturisasi

2008-01-31T04:23:00.001+07:00

Penulis: Reva Sasistiya

JAKARTA--MI: Serikat pekerja PT PLN diminta memahami tujuan restrukturisasi yang dicanangkan para pemegang saham. PLN menegaskan, pasca restrukturisasi para pekerja tidak akan terombang-ambing nasibnya.

Apalagi, Menteri BUMN sudah memutuskan untuk membatalkan rencana pelepasan PT Indonesia Power (IP) dan PT Pembangkit Jawa Bali (PJB).

"Namanya restrukturisasi, perubahannya cukup mendasar sifatnya. Dengan tujuan struktur yang baru lebih kokoh dan sesuai dengan tantangan yang dihadapi. Justru penjaminan hak-hak karyawan merupakan salah satu yang penting dalam restrukturisasi," papar Diorut PLN, Eddie Widiono di Jakarta, Rabu (30/1).

Ia mengakui munculnya demo sekitar 7.000 orang yang terdiri dari Serikat Pekerja PLN dan BUMN strategis tersebut merupakan kesalahannya karena terlambat mensosialisasikan tujuan restrukturisasi kepada para karyawannya.

"Kami hanya punya waktu sangat terbatas untuk menjelaskan. Kami sudah kirim manajemen grup konsultasi yang terdiri atas direksi untuk menjelaskan status usulan tersebut," jelasnya.

Aksi unjuk rasa itu pun tak kurang ikut membuat khawatir Menteri ESDM Purnomo Yusgiantoro. Ia mengingatkan, pegawai beserta seluruh jajaran PLN mempunyai tanggung jawab yang besar dalam menjamin ketersediaan tenaga listrik yang merupakan infrastruktur pokok dalam kegiatan ekonomi masyarakat.

"Meminta PLN tetap dapat melakukan kewajibannya melayani masyarakat memberikan pasokan listrik dan tidak terjadi pemadaman atau gangguan dalam sistem pasokan listrik sebagai akibat unjuk rasa tersebut," pinta Purnomo.

Ketua Dewan Serikat Pekerja PJB Edy Hartono mengatakan mereka menggelar untuk memberi pelajaran kepada para pemegang kekuasaan PLN supaya tidak seenaknya mengeluarkan keputusan.

"Walaupun kekhawatiran utama kita bahwa IP dan PJB akan dilepas sudah tidak ada lagi tapi kita ingin agar para pemimpin itu tidak asal membuat keputusan. Apalagi, sampai menjual aset negara kepada pihak asing," tegasnya. (Eva/OL-06)

Medco Juli Mulai Bor Sumur untuk PLTP Sarulla

2008-01-30T15:52:00.001+07:00

Penulis: Reva Sasistiya

JAKARTA--MI: Medco Energi pada Juli mendatang akan mulai melakukan pengeboran sumur untuk Proyek Pembangkit Listrik Tenaga Panas Bumi (PLTP) Sarulla, Sumut, berdaya 330 MW.

Deputi Direktur Pengelolaan IPP PLN Nasri Sebayang, di Jakarta, Rabu (30/1), mengatakan dengan masa konstruksi selama 30 bulan, maka unit pertama PLTP Sarulla berkapasitas 55 MW, diperkirakan sudah mulai beroperasi 2010.

"Saat ini, mesin pengeborannya sedang dalam perjalanan dari China," katanya.

Sedang, pembangkit kedua dijadwalkan selesai tiga bulan sesudah unit pertama, begitu seterusnya sampai unit keenam.

Medco sudah menandatangani PPA Sarulla pada Oktober 2007 dan kini sedang menyelesaikan finalisasi pendanaan.

"Saya kira masalah pendanaan selesai tidak sampai enam bulan sejak kontrak perjanjian jual beli listrik (PPA) ditandatangani," ujarnya.

Proyek PLTU Sarulla 330 MW diperkirakan membutuhkan dana US$500 juta. Sebanyak 70 persen pendanaan berasal dari pinjaman dan 30 persen modal sendiri.

Disisi lain, menurut Nasri, PLN menargetkan penandatanganan kontrak jual beli listrik (PPA) dengan enam pembangkit listrik swasta (IPP) selesai sebelum Maret 2008. IPP tersebut seluruhnya berlokasi di luar Jawa.

"Kami targetkan sebelum Maret, semua sudah 'diteken'," katanya.

Keenam IPP itu adalah PLTU Sumsel 2x112,5 MW, PLTU mulut tambang di Kalsel berkapasitas 2x60 MW, PLTU Minahasa 2x50 MW, PLTU 2x10 MW, PLTU Nunukan 2x10 MW, dan PLTU Kupang 2x10 MW.

Setelah menandatangani PPA, pengembang diwajibkan menyelesaian masalah keuangan paling lama 12 bulan. Selanjutnya, pengembang melakukan pekerjaan konstruksi selama 30-36 bulan.

Nasri juga menjelaskan, proyek IPP PLTU Cirebon 600 MW sudah mulai konstruksi berupa pematangan tanah sejak Desember 2007. "Memang masih ada masalah pembebasan lahan, tapi sedikit," katanya.

Ia optimis, PLTU Cirebon bisa beroperasi sesuai jadwal pada 2011.

Proyek-proyek itu merupakan bagian dari rencana PLN membangun

pembangkit melalui pola IPP sebesar 30.119 MW hingga 2017.

PLN juga tengah mengerjakan proyek sendiri berupa program percepatan pembangunan pembangkit 10.000 MW yang direncanakan beroperasi 2009-2010. (Eva/OL-2)

Harvard Referencing System

2008-01-30T05:28:00.001+07:00

Introduction

The Harvard style is the most commonly-used style of referencing worldwide. Unfortunately, it is not 'owned' by any institution or organisation, so no authority sets the rules. This means they have been interpreted slightly differently by different institutions. These webpages recommend a version taken from the British Standard, but you should check with your department to see if they recommend something slightly different.

You can either include:

a reference list - an alphabetical list of citations that have appeared in the body of your work.

and if you include this, you must also include

a full bibliography - listing all the sources of information you have consulted in your research, and this list should also be arranged alphabetically.

Or you can just provide a full bibliography - check with you School regarding their requirements.

Below is a checklist of the details you need to include for the common types of material cited. The layout and formatting should be exactly as it is shown, though if you do vary it, you should remain consistent throughout your bibliography:

Top of page

Archive/Special Collection manuscript
FAMILY NAME, INITIAL(S). Date. Title [material type]. Collection, shelfmark. Library, City, County

COLVIL, S. c.1680. The Mock poem, I-II [manuscript]. Brotherton Collection, MS Lt 1. Leeds University Library, Leeds, West Yorkshire

Blog
FAMILY NAME, INITIAL(S). Year. Title of blog entry. Date blog entry written. Title of Blog [online]. [Date accessed]. Available from World Wide Web: <URL>

NEWTON, A. 2007. Newcastle toolkit. 16 January 2007. Angela Newton: Blog [online]. [Accessed 23 February 2007]. Available from World Wide Web: <http://elgg.leeds.ac.uk/libajn/weblog/>

Books (one or more authors)
Take the information from the title page and the reverse of the title page:
FAMILY NAME, INITIAL(S). Year. Title. City of publication: Publisher

ADAMS, A. D. 1906. Electric transmission of water power. New York: McGraw

Books (edited)
Write (ed) or (eds) after the editor's name(s):
FAMILY NAME, INITIAL(S). (ed). Year. Title. City of publication: Publisher

CRANDELL, K.A. (ed). 1999. The Evolution of HIV. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press

Books (electronic)
FAMILY NAME, INITIAL(S). Year. Title. City of publication: Publisher. [ Date accessed]. Available from World Wide Web: <URL>

McROBBIE, A. 1998. British fashion design : rag trade or image industry? London: Routledge. [Accessed 31 May 2006]. Available from World Wide Web:
<http://leeds.etailer.dpsl.net/Home/html/moreinfo.asp?isbn=0203168011>

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Census statistics
DEPOSITOR, Title [computer file]. ESRC/JISC Census Programme, Census Data Support Unit, University in which the unit is based.

OFFICE FOR NATIONAL STATISTICS, 2001 Census: Standard Area Statistics (England and Wales) [computer file]. ESRC/JISC Census Programme, Census Dissemination Unit, MIMAS (University of Manchester)

Chapters in edited books
Use the title page and reverse title page of the book and the chapter heading itself:
FAMILY NAME, INITIAL(S). Year. Chapter title. In: Initial(s) FAMILY NAME OF EDITOR(S), (eds). Title of book. City of publication: Publisher. Page number of your quotation

COFFIN, J. M. 1999. Molecular Biology of HIV. In: K.A. CRANDELL, (ed). The Evolution of HIV, Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press, pp.2-10.

CD-ROM
Use the accompanying material:
Title. Year. [CD-ROM]. City of publication: Publisher.

Who's who 1897-1998. 1998. [CD-ROM] London: Oxford University Press.

Command papers
GREAT BRITAIN. Department/Committee. Year. Title. (Command no). HMSO: London

GREAT BRITAIN. Criminal Law Revision Committee. 1984. Fifteenth Report: Sexual Offences. (Cmnd 9213). HMSO: London

N.B. Check what abbreviation is required for Command, as this is different for different historical periods.

Conference papers and proceedings
Use the title page and reverse title page of the full proceedings and the headings for the paper:
FAMILY NAME, INITIAL(S). Year. Title of paper. In: Editor(s) of conference proceedings if known. Title of conference, date of conference, location of conference. Place of publication: publisher. Page number(s)

ROBERTSON, J. 1986. The economics of local recovery. In: The Other Economic Summit, 17/18 April 1986, Tokyo. London: The Other Economic Summit, pp.5-10

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Congress Hearing (U.S.)
U.S. HOUSE. Committee. Title. Hearing, date. Washington: Government Printing Office, Year

U.S. HOUSE. Committee on Economic and Educational Opportunities. Child care and child welfare. Hearing, 3 February 1995. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1995

Dance - live performance
CHOREOGRAPHER. Premiere date. Title.[Date seen and where].

ASHTON, F. 1940. Dante Sonata, The Royal Ballet [performance viewed 10 July 2004, Lincoln Centre, New York]

Dance - video
DIRECTOR/PRODUCER. Year published or first transmission. Title of video or programme [type of medium e.g. video], Production company or Publisher [further details to identify dance works]

LOCKYER, B. dir. 1979. Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet [video for television transmission], BBC TV. in association with R.M. Productions Munich [Les Patineurs, Ashton; Pineapple Poll, Cranko]

Electronic discussion lists
FAMILY NAME, INITIAL(S). Year. Title. Date added. Available from: Discussion group title [Date accessed]

CRANSHAW, L. 2001. Nature license for 2001 and beyond: can your institution afford it? 6 Feb 2001. Available from: lis e-journals [Accessed 21 March 2002]

Email communications
FAMILY NAME, INITIAL(S). Title. [online]. Message to: Recipient. Date sent. [Date accessed]. Personal communication

PRITCHARD, S. Your request for Information about ISO Standards. [online]. Message to: Margaret MORRISON. 18 February 2005. [Accessed 3 March 2005]. Personal communication

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Eprints and preprints
FAMILY NAME, INITIAL(S). Year. Title of article. Journal title, Volume (issue number), page numbers. Prefix.Eprint number

KLEINBLOCK, D. and G. MARGULIS. 1998. Flows of homogenous spaces and Diophantine approximation on manifolds. Annals of Mathematics, 148 (2), pp.339-360. ArXiv:math.NT/9810036

E.U. COM documents
Title, COM (last 2 digits of the year)serial number, final

Proposal for a Council directive establishing a European Guarantee Fund to promote cinema and television production, COM (95)546, final

E.U. legislation
Institutional origin (e.g. Commission/ Council) form (e.g. Regulation, directive, decision) institutional treaty (e.g. EEC/EC, ECSC, Euratom) Unique number/ last 2 digits of year of enactment on date passed on title of legislation

Council Regulation (EC) No. 2078/2 of 30 June 1992 on agricultural production methods compatible with the requirements of the protection of the environment and the maintenance of the countryside

Film or video
Title. Material designation. Subsidiary originator (director is preferred). Production details - place: organisation. Year.

Chicken Run. Animated film. Directed by Peter LORD and Nick PARK. Bristol: Aardman. 2000.

Film transcript
FAMILY NAME, INITIAL(S). Year. Title. [Location of transcript]. City

COBBAN, W. and B. CAMERON. 1998. Mountie: Canada's mightiest myth [National Film Board of Canada documentary transcript]. Montreal

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Government departmental circular (U.K)
GREAT BRITAIN. Office, Department. Year. Title. Circular distributed: date. Office: London

GREAT BRITAIN. Home Office, Lord Chancellor's Department and Department of Health. (Undated). Child witness pack. Circular distributed 10 May 1993. Home Office: London

Hansard
HANSARD (House). Date, column numbers

HANSARD (Commons). 27 November 1986, columns 506-7

Illustration
ORIGINATOR. Year. Title. Material type, location.

GOSSE, S. 1912. The garden, Rowlandson House. Etching and aquatint, At: London: British Museum, Department of Prints and Drawings. Register number 1915-27-41.

Image (Online)
ORIGINATOR. Year. Title of image [online]. [Date accessed]. Available from World Wide Web: <url of site>

NEWRY INSTITUTE. 2002. Current student [online]. [Accessed 4th December 2002]. Available from World Wide Web: <http://www.nkifhe.ac.uk/>

Interview
FAMILY NAME, INITIAL(S). Year. [Personal communication]. Date interview conducted

SCHAIE, K. 1993. [Personal communication]. 18 April

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Interview (taped)
FAMILY NAME, INITIAL(S). Year. Interview with the author on Date. City. [Cassette recording in possession of author]

SMUTS, D. 1987. Interview with the author on 4 August 1987. Cape Town. [Cassette recording in possession of author]

Journal article
Use the title page of the journal volume or issue and the article:
FAMILY NAME, INITIAL(S). Year. Title of article. Journal title. Volume (issue number), page number of your quotation

WALKER, J R. 1998. Citing serials: online serial publications and citation systems. Serials-Librarian, 33 (3/4), pp.343-356.

Journal article (electronic)
Use information from the web site and the article:
FAMILY NAME, INITIAL(S). Year. Title of article. Journal title [online]. Volume (issue number) [Date accessed], page number of your quotation. Available from World Wide Web: <url of site>

ROYALL, C.P., B.L.THIEL, and A.M. DONALD, 2001. Radiation damage of water in environmental scanning electron microscopy. Journal of Microscopy [online]. 204 (3), [Accessed 9th May 2002], p.185. Available from World Wide Web: <http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/>

Law report
Law reports do not form part of the Harvard system of citations, the examples below are accepted ways of referencing law reports.

If the year is crucial to identify the report, enclose it in square brackets e.g.
Parties in the case [Year] Abbreviation of law report Page

Jones v. Smith [1934] All ER 123

If the law report has a volume number, and so the year is not crucial to find the case, enclose the year in round brackets e.g.
Parties in the case (Year) volume number Abbreviation of law report Page

R. v. Williams (1992) 2 WLR 321

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Lecture notes

FAMILY NAME, INITIAL(S). Year of presentation. Lecture title, lecture notes distributed in the topic module code (capitalised) title of module. Teaching organisation, the location on date. Do not use italics.

VOLTMER, K. 2006. 'Politicians and the press: Models of interaction', lecture notes distributed in the topic COMM5610 Politics and the Media. Leeds University, Man-Made Fibres Building on 17 April.

Major reference works
Editor and publisher of a well-known reference work can be omitted, but cite the page numbers consulted:
T itle.Year. s.v. Section heading, page number of your quotation (NB: sub-verbo, this means 'look under' and directs the reader to find it under another heading, in this case the section)

New Encyclopaedia Britannica. 1988. s.v. Microradiography, 15th ed. p.1374

Map
ORIGINATOR'S SURNAME, INITIAL(S). Year. Title, scale. City: Publisher

MASON, J. 1832. Map of the countries lying between Spain and India, 1:8,000,000. London: Ordnance Survey

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Microform
FAMILY NAME, INITIAL(S). Year. Title [Medium]. Available: Title of microform collection: reel number/ fiche number

ADSON, J. 1621. Courtly masquing ayres, composed to 5. and 6. parts, for violins, consorts, and cornets [Microfilm]. Available: Early English books, 1475-1640: 906:1

Mintel report
MINTEL MARKETING INTELLIGENCE. (Year). Title. City of publication: Publisher

MINTEL MARKETING INTELLIGENCE. (1998). Designerwear: Mintel Marketing Report. London: Mintel International Group

Music (published)
ORIGINATOR. Year. Title. Subsidiary originator. City of publication: Publisher.

BRITTAIN, B. 1980. Eight folk songs arrangements for high voice and harp. Osain ELLIS, (ed). London: Faber Music.

Newspaper article
FAMILY NAME, INITIAL(S). Title of article. Year. Newspaper title, date, page number of your quotation

WEBSTER, B. New speed camera puts more drivers in the frame. 2006. Times, 24 May, p.1

Newspaper cartoon
CARTOONIST. Year. "Title of cartoon." Newspaper title. Date, Page

BELL, S. 2006. "The alleged al-Qaida threat to Los Angeles". Guardian. 10 February 2006, p.29

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Organisation report
ORGANISATION. (Unpublished, year). Title. Report dated date

NSPCC. (Unpublished, 1988) NSPCC submission to the Home Office Advisory Group on the admissibility of video recorded interviews. Report dated September 1988

Painting
ARTIST. Year. Title, material type, measurements. Art Gallery, City.

VAN GOGH, V. 1888. Sunflowers, oil on canvas, 92.1 x 73 cm. National Gallery, London

Parliamentary act (U.K.)
Title Year: Monarch. Chapter. The Stationery Office, Year

Access to Justice Act 1999: Elizabeth II. Chapter 22. The Stationery Office, 1999

Patents and patent applications
This information is found on the title page of the patent:
NAME OF ORIGINATOR. Year. Title of patent document. Patent code. Patent number

PHILIP MORRIS INC. 1981. Optical perforating apparatus and system. European patent application 0021165 A1. 1981-01-07.

Press release
ORGANISATION. Year. Title. Press release, issued date

NSPCC. 1993. NSPCC launches justice for children campaign. Press release, issued 17 March 1993

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Senate report (U.S.)
U.S. SENATE. Committee. Title. (Report number). Washington: Government Printing Office, Year

U.S. SENATE. Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Franklin D. Roosevelt's Family Lands: Report together with minority views (to accompany s. 134). (S. Rpt. 104-32). Washington: Government Printing Office, 1995

Sound recording
ORIGINATOR. Year. Title. Place of publication and Name of publisher (separated by a colon). Ref No. Sound type medium. Length.

THE COASTERS. 1958. Sorry but I'm gonna (sic) have to pass. New York: WEA International Inc. A4591C. Stereo Audiocassette, 3min.

Standards
This information is found on the title page of the standard:
AUTHOR OF STANDARD. Year. Standard Number and Year (separated by a colon). Title of standard. Place of publication and Name of publisher (separated by a colon).

BRITISH STANDARDS INSTITUTION. 1990. BS5605:1990. Recommendations for citing and referencing published material. Milton Keynes: BSI.

Television advertisement
COMPANY/PRODUCT. Year produced. Description of advert (duration). Television advertisement, channel. Screened dates

COCA COLA. 2006. Santa handing bottles of coke to a girl every year at Christmas until she turns into a woman (30 secs). Television advertisement, ITV3. Screened 01/12/2006-25/12/2006.

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Television broadcast
Series title and number and title of episode. Transmitting organisation and channel, full date and time of transmission.

Prison Break, Episode 210, Rendezvous. TV, Five, 2007 March 19. 22.00 hrs.

Theatre performance (devised production)
FAMILY NAME, INITIAL(S)/PRODUCTION COMPANY. Year. Title, performer, director. International tour: Theatre company

ODIN TEATRET. 1990. The Castle of Hostelbro, perf. Julia VARNEY, dir. Eugenio BARBA. International tour: Nordisk Teaterlaboratorium/ Teatro Tascabile

Theatre performance (production of an authored play)
FAMILY NAME, INITIAL(S). Year. Title, director, theatre: theatre company. First performance: Date performance started

SHAKESPEARE, W. 1989. Pericles, Prince of Tyre, dir. David THACKER, The Swan in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warks: Royal Shakespeare Company. First performance: 6 September 1989

Theses and dissertations
Use the title page of the thesis:
FAMILY NAME, INITIAL(S). Year. Title. Type of qualification, academic institution

GILL, M.R. 1997. The relationship between the physical properties of human articular cartilage and tissue biochemistry and ultrastructure. Ph.D. thesis, University of Leeds.

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Unpublished documents
If unsure of the date, make a sensible guess and use a question mark:
FAMILY NAME, INITIAL(S). Year. Title. Unpublished.

FENDELL, R. 1985? Training and management for primary healthcare. Unpublished.

Website with author
Take the information from the webpage itself or the associated homepage - use the title bar and the credits at the bottom of the page, your own date of viewing the page and insert the words [online] and Available from World Wide Web:
FAMILY NAME, INITIAL(S). Year. Title [online]. [Date accessed]. Available from World Wide Web : <url of site>

HAWKING, S. 2000. Professor Stephen Hawking's website [online]. [Accessed 9th May 2002]. Available from World Wide Web: <http://www.hawking.org.uk/home/hindex.html>

Website with no author
Take the information from the webpage itself or the associated homepage - use the title bar and the credits at the bottom of the page, your own date of viewing the page and insert the words [online] and Available from World Wide Web:
Title of website.Year as appearing on site [online]. [Date accessed]. Available from World Wide Web : <url of site>

Feminist Collections A Quarterly of Women's Studies Resources. 2002. [online]. [Accessed 9th May 2002]. Available from World Wide Web: <http://www.library.wisc.edu/libraries/WomensStudies/fcmain.htm>

Wikis
WIKI NAME. Date. Title of article [online]. [Date accessed]. Available from World Wide Web:<url of site>

WIKIPEDIA. 2007. Socrates [online]. [Accessed 23rd January 2007]. Available from World Wide Web:<http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Socrates&action=history>

YouTube video
SCREEN NAME. Year. Title [online]. [Date Accessed]. Available from World Wide Web: <URL>

YANGSTER391991. 2007. Kunfu mix wit breakdance!!! [online]. [Accessed 23 February 2007]. Available from World Wide Web: <http://youtube.com/watch?v=qMZoZsRZxKY>

Serikat Pekerja PLN Tolak Privatisasi

2008-01-28T15:33:00.001+07:00

Penulis: Reva Sasistiya

JAKARTA--MI: Serikat Pekerja PT PLN (persero) secara tegas menolak rencana pemerintah untuk memprivatisasi PT Indonesia Power (IP) dan PT Pembangkit Jawa Bali (PJB). Mereka menilai keputusan pemerintah ini sebagai upaya menjual aset negara.

Salah satu yang menetang keras rencana pelepasan dua anak perusahaan dari PLN Itu adalah Nus Irwan. Selaku Ketua Persatuan Pegawai IP, ia berpendapat privatisasi perusahaan tempatnya bekerja dan PJB hanya akan menjerumuskan kedua perusahaan dalam keadaan yang lebih sulit lagi.

"Dengan restrukturisasi korporasi, PLN nantinya hanya akan jadi penyalur. IP dan PJB di bawah kendali para pemilik sahamnya, hanya akan bertujuan mencari keuntungan, bagaimana dengan harga jual listrik," ujarnya di sela diskusi di Jakarta, Senin (28/1).

Penentang lainnya adalah Mantan Ketua MPR Amien Rais. Politikus dari PAN ini melihat restrukturisasi IP dan PJB sebagai contoh kesewenangan yang dilakukan pemerintah.

"Seharusnya pemerintah berpikir profit before the people (mengambil keuntungan dengan mengutamakan rakyat). Tapi, ternyata mereka sungguh egois, mengambil keuntungan sebanyak-banyak. Jangan lagi akibat akal bulus mereka, terjadi seperti kasus Indosat," sindir Amien.

Anggota Komisi VII Tjatur Sapto Edy melontarkan kritikan yang lebih pedas lagi. Menurutnya, keputusan pemerintah untuk privatisasi ini sungguh suatu kebijakan yang ketinggalan jaman, yang bahkan oleh negara maju pun telah disingkirkan jauh-jauh.

"Malaysia dan Inggris yang merencanakan ini sudah berbalik. Bahkan Prancis yang telah melakukan hal itu kini menyesalinya. Kenapa pemerintah sekarang harus mengikuti yang sudah ditinggalkan seperti ini," ketusnya.

Ia juga tidak menapik kemungkinan kenaikan subsidi, apabila privatisasi betul terjadi.

Kekhawatiran akan terjadinya penentangan privatisasi ini sebetulnya sudah dirasakan Dirut PLN Eddie Widiono. Pun berbagai alasan penolakan restrukturisasi sudah diutarakannya dalam Rapat

Dengar Pendapat dengan Komisi VII, akhir pekan lalu.

Diantaranya, sebagai anak perusahaan PLN, transkasi IP dan PJB memiliki komponen marjin yang tidak merupakan pembentuk biaya pokok sehingga tidak layak untuk subsidi.

"Pada saatnya nanti sebagai BUMN, IP dan PJB akan diperlakukan seperti listrik swasta sehingga mengakibatkan komponen marjin tersebut menjadi layak untuk subsidi. Berarti, subsidi akan naik," ujar Eddie.

Selain itu, Eddie juga takut apabila pelepasan kedua anak perusahaannya tersebut akan berimbas pada peningkatan harga jual listrik ke PLN. Dan, tentu saja, ada kemungkinan timbul gejolak karyawan, baik di lingkungan PLN sendiri maupun di lingkungan IP dan PJB yang berpotensi mengganggu kinerja perusahaan.

Saat ini, sebagai langkah awal untuk privatisasi sesuai perintah Menneg BUMN Sofyan Djalil, PLN telah memberikan IP pengelolaan proyek pembangkit 10.000 Mw yang berada di Jabar, dan PJB untuk di Jatim.(Eva/OL-03)

Serikat Pekerja PLN Ancam Lakukan Pemadaman

2008-01-28T15:28:00.001+07:00

Penulis: Reva Sasistiya

JAKARTA--MI: Serikat Pekerja PT PLN (Persero) mengancam akan melakukan pemadaman di wilayah Jakarta, jika pemerintah tidak mengindahkan tuntutan mereka untuk membatalkan rencana restrukturisasi.

Rencana pemadaman itu, seperti dikatakan Ketua Serikat Dewan Pekerja PT Pembangkit Jawa Bali yang merupakan anak perusahaan PLN, Edy Hartono itu akan dimulai dari aksi demonstrasi massal.

Sekitar 4.000 anggota Serikat Pekerja BUMN Strategis, yang terdiri dari pegawai PT PLN (Persero), PT Indonesia Power, PT Pembangkit Jawa Bali, PT Pertamina (Persero), PT Telkom (Tbk), dan PT Telkomsel direncanakan akan berdemonstrasi pada 30 Januari mendatang.

"Kita menentang restrukrisasi yang ujungnya pada penjualan aset. Kalau sepekan setelah demonstrasi, tidak ada tanggapan dari pemerintah, kita akan lakukan pemadaman," ujar Edy yang ditemui di sela diskusi di Jakarta, Senin (28/1).

Jika sampai pemadaman terjadi, lanjut dia, minimal Jakarta akan gelap listrik selama enam jam.

"Pemadaman tidak akan bisa setengah hari. Karena, kalau sampai satu sistem mati pasti akan mengganggu sistem lainnya. Untuk menyalakannya lagi butuh waktu," ujarnya.

Aksi demonstrasi direncanakan dilaksanakan pada Rabu (30/1), dari jam 09.00, dimulai dari Bundaran HI dan berakhir di Istana Merdeka.

Rencana unjuk rasa itu mendapat dukungan dari mantan Ketua MPR Amien Rais. Menurutnya aksi semacam ini perlu untuk mengingatkan pemerintah. Terlebih lagi kalau pemadaman sampai dilakukan, maka ia mengatakan, hal itu akan jadi terapi kejut yang baik untuk pemerintah.

"Tapi kalau mau pemadaman, fasilitas publik seperti rumah sakit harus mendapat informasi dulu," ujarnya.

Penentangan terhadap rencana restrukturisasi ini berakar pada kehawatiran pada pekerja, bahwa perseroan akan jatuh ke tangan perusahaan-perusahaan asing. Mereka juga risau akan masa depan mereka, kalau sampai hal itu terjadi.(Eva/OL-03)

Suharto meninggal

2008-01-27T16:58:00.001+07:00

Mantan Presiden Indonesia, Suharto yang pernah memimpin selama 32 tahun, meninggal dunia di Jakarta hari Minggu pada usia 86 tahun.

Meninggalnya Suharto setelah tiga minggu dirawat di Rumah Sakit Pusat Pertamina di Jakarta, karena komplikasi jantung, paru-paru dan ginjal.

"Bapak telah kembali ke Rahmatullah," kata putri tertua Pak Harto, Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana sambil menitikkan air mata kepada para wartawan di luar rumah sakit.

"Kami meminta maaf atas kesalahan yang telah diperbuatnya selama ini." kata Tutut lagi.

Tim dokter mengatakan Suharto mengalami kegagalan multiple organ semalam.

Dokter berusaha untuk membantu Suharto, namun meninggal sekitar jam 13.10 WIB.

Seorang dokter yang menangani Suharto, Munawar, mengatakan "kami berusaha yang terbaik, namun Tuhan menentukan yang lain."

Menurut mantan menteri Sekretaris Negara, Moerdiono, seluruh enam anak Suharto, dan keluarga lainnya berada di sisi tempat tidur Suharto ketika dia meninggal.

Presiden Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono menyampaikan pernyataan bela sungkawa dan meminta rakyat Indonesia berdoa bagi mantan pemimpin Orde Baru tersebut.

"Saya juga menyerukan kepada seluruh rakyat Indonesia untuk menunjukkan penghormatan tertinggi kepada salah satu putra terbaik Indonesia tersebut." kata Presiden.

Bendera Merah Putih di luar Istana Presiden di Jakarta diturunkan setengah tiang, dan Sekretaris Kabinet Sudi Silalahi mengumumkan masa berkabung nasional selama tujuh hari.

Juru bicara presiden mengatakan Presiden Yudhoyono akan memimpin upacara pemakaman hari Senin di pemakaman pribadi keluarga Suharto di Solo, Jawa Tengah.

RUPSLB PLN Perkuat Pencopotan Ali Herman

2008-01-24T15:04:00.001+07:00

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Rapat Umum Pemegang Saham Luar Biasa (RUPSLB) PT PLN (Persero) memperkuat keputusan Dewan Komisaris yang mencopot posisi Ali Herman Ibrahim sebagai Direktur Pembangkitan dan Energi Primer.

Deputi Menneg BUMN Bidang Pertambangan, Industri Strategis, Energi, dan Telekomunikasi, Roes Aryawijaya, usai rapat tersebut di Jakarta, Selasa malam, mengatakan keputusan pencopotan Ali Herman tersebut diambil karena kekurangan stok batubara PLTU Tanjung Jati B telah berpotensi menyebabkan tambahan biaya bahan bakar.

"Kekurangan stok batubara telah menyebabkan tambahan biaya Rp30-40 miliar per hari karena harus menggunakan bahan bakar minyak," katanya.

Menurut dia, keputusan ini diambil setelah mempertimbangkan surat keputusan Dewan Komisaris PLN yang memberhentikan sementara Ali Herman dan penjelasan Ali Herman sendiri.

Sebelumnya, rapat Dewan Komisaris PLN, pada Jumat (3/1) malam telah mencopot sementara posisi Ali Herman Ibrahim tersebut.

Dengan keputusan RUPSLB tersebut, maka Ali Herman secara permanen telah dicopot dari jabatannya sebagai Direktur Pembangkitan dan Energi Primer PLN.

Rapat memutuskan General Manager PLN Distribusi Jakarta Raya dan Tangerang Fahmi Mochtar sebagai Plt Direktur Pembangkitan dan Energi Primer PLN sampai terpilih direktur yang baru.

RUPSLB yang khusus beragendakan pembelaan Ali Herman Ibrahim itu digelar sejak pukul 17.00 WIB hingga berakhir pukul 22.00 WIB.

Rapat tersebut merupakan lanjutan dari RUPS yang membahas rencana kerja dan anggaran perusahaan (RAKP) yang berlangsung sejak pukul 10.00 WIB hingga pukul 17.00 WIB.

Selain Roes, rapat dihadiri direksi dan komisaris PLN secara lengkap.

Ali Herman yang ditanya wartawan usai rapat tidak mau memberi komentar.

"Tanya ke Pak Eddie (Dirut PLN Eddie Widiono) saja," katanya seraya bergegas meninggalkan wartawan menuju mobilnya.

RUPSLB juga memutuskan membentuk tim yang bertugas menginvestigasi lamanya proses tender pengangkutan batubara. Tim bertugas hingga akhir Maret 2008.

"Apabila berdasarkan temuan tim memang ada kelalaian maka seluruh jajaran manajer dan staf PLTU Tanjung Jati B termasuk direksi dan komisaris akan dikenakan sanksi," kata Roes.

Menurut dia, proses tender pengangkutan batubara yang telah diselesaikan pada 13 Agustus 2004 baru disampaikan ke Dewan Komisaris pada 11 September 2007.

Menanggapi itu, Dirut PLN Eddie Widiono mengatakan, seluruh jajaran direksi menerima keputusan RUPSLB tersebut dengan kepala tertunduk.

"Kami telah berusaha keras sediakan batubara. Tapi, faktanya memang terjadi kekurangan. Kami terima putusan ini, karena jabatan merupakan amanah," katanya yang selanjutnya terdiam berapa saat dan terlihat matanya berkaca-kaca.

Buruknya manajemen stok batubara PLTU Tanjung Jati B yang berkapasitas 2x660 MW itu merupakan ulangan peristiwa yang sama pada 2007.

PLN menjelaskan, tersendatnya pasokan batubara ke PLTU Tanjung Jati B berlokasi di Jepara, Jateng dikarenakan cuaca buruk dan ketiadaan kapal pengangkut.

Pada 27 Desember 2007, stok batubara PLTU Tanjung Jati B hanya tersisa 50.000 ton. Dengan kebutuhan batubara mencapai 11.000 ton per hari, maka stok yang ada hanya tertinggal sekitar 4-5 hari.

Karenannya, sejak 31 Desember 2007, PLN memutuskan menghentikan operasi satu unit PLTU Tanjung Jati B selama tujuh hari.(*)

Ali Herman Ajukan Gugatan ke PTUN

2008-01-24T15:03:00.001+07:00

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Ali Herman Ibrahim akan mengajukan gugatan hukum ke Pengadilan Tata Usaha Negara (PTUN) terkait pencopotan dirinya sebagai Direktur Pembangkitan dan Energi Primer PT PLN (Persero).

Kuasa hukum Ali Herman, Hamdan Zoelva, usai mendampingi kliennya menyampaikan pembelaan dalam Rapat Umum Pemegang Saham Luar Biasa (RUPSLB) di Jakarta, Selasa malam, mengatakan dalam rapat itu tidak dapat dibuktikan adanya kelalaian yang dilakukan Ali Herman.

"Keputusan pemberhentian ini merupakan bentuk kesewenang-wenangan pemegang saham karena tidak satu pun alasan hukum dan bukti yang membenarkan Ali diberhentikan," katanya.

Bahkan, lanjutnya, RUPSLB juga memutuskan pencopotan Ali Herman akan diinvestigasi oleh tim.

"Itu artinya Ali Herman belum tentu bersalah, namun sudah diberhentikan secara permanen oleh pemegang saham," ujar Hamdan yang juga mantan anggota DPR tersebut.

Menurut dia, direksi PLN sudah melakukan antisipasi persediaan batubara sebanyak 507 ribu ton pada Desember 2007. Namun, karena buruknya cuaca dan ketiadaan kapal pengangkut membuat rencana tersebut tidak dapat terealisasi.

"Kapal pengangkut batubara nasional hanya ada sembilan dan kapal asing tidak diperbolehkan mengangkut batubara (azas cabotage)," katanya.

Selain gugatan ke PTUN, tambah Hamdan, pihaknya juga akan memprotes keputusan pencopotan kliennya ke Presiden dan DPR.

RUPSLB PLN memperkuat keputusan Dewan Komisaris yang mencopot posisi Ali Herman Ibrahim sebagai Direktur Pembangkitan dan Energi Primer.

Rapat beralasan kekurangan stok batubara PLTU Tanjung Jati B telah berpotensi menyebabkan tambahan biaya bahan bakar.

"Kekurangan stok batubara telah menyebabkan tambahan biaya Rp30-40 miliar per hari karena harus menggunakan bahan bakar minyak," kata Deputi Menneg BUMN Bidang Pertambangan, Industri Strategis, Energi, dan Telekomunikasi Roes Aryawijaya usai rapat.

Sebelumnya, rapat Dewan Komisaris PLN, pada Jumat (4/1) malam telah mencopot sementara posisi Ali Herman Ibrahim tersebut.

Dengan keputusan RUPSLB tersebut, maka posisi Ali Herman secara permanen telah dicopot jabatannya sebagai Direktur Pembangkitan dan Energi Primer PLN.(*)

PLN Tanda Tangani Empat Kontrak EPC PLTU

2008-01-24T15:02:00.001+07:00

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - PT PLN (Persero) menandatangani empat kontrak pembangunan (engineering, procurement, and construction/EPC) PLTU program percepatan 10.000 MW yang berlokasi di luar Jawa.

Keempat kontrak yang ditandatangani di Jakarta, Senin adalah PLTU Kepulauan Riau 2x7 MW, PLTU NTT 2x7 MW, PLTU Sultra 2x10 MW, dan PLTU Kalteng 2x60 MW.

"Nilai kontrak keempat PLTU mencapai 196,6 juta dolar AS," kata Dirut PLN Eddie Widiono usai penandatanganan.

Menurut dia, nilai penghematan BBM yang didapat dari pengoperasian keempat PLTU itu mencapai Rp2,99 triliun per tahun.

Eddie juga mengatakan, unit pertama pembangkit ditargetkan beroperasi pada Januari 2010 dan unit kedua Maret 2010.

PLTU Kepri berlokasi di Tanjung Balai Karimun dibangun konsorsium Shandong Machinery I&E Group Corp dan PT Rekadaya Elektrika dengan nilai kontrak 18,5 juta dolar AS.

Pembangkit NTT berlokasi di Keliwumbu, Ende dengan nilai kontrak 19,8 juta dolar AS dibangun konsorsium yang sama.

Selanjutnya, PLTU Sultra yang dibangun konsorsium yang sama berlokasi di Kendari dengan nilai kontrak 26 juta dolar AS dan PLTU Kalteng berlokasi di Desa Buntoi dibangun konsorsium China National Heavy Machinery Corp, Shandong Electric Power, dan PT Mega Power Mandiri dengan nilai kontrak 132,3 juta dolar AS.

Pada kesempatan itu, juga ditandatangani kontrak EPC PLTG 1x112 MW yang berlokasi di Sicanang, Belawan, Medan, dengan PT Menamas-Betasurya-Saktimas senilai Rp827 miliar.

Plt Direktur Pembangkitan dan Energi Primer Fahmi Mochtar mengatakan, pembangunan pembangkit itu merupakan upaya menanggulangi krisis listrik di Sumatera bagian utara.

"PLTG ini dijadwalkan beroperasi April 2008," katanya.

Menurut dia, pada tahap awal, pembangkit tersebut akan memakai solar jenis "high speed diesel" (HSD), sebelum nantinya memakai bahan bakar gas.

Selain PLTG Belawan, untuk menanggulangi krisis listrik di Sumatera bagian utara, PLN juga telah menandatangani kontrak pembangunan pembangkit "mobile diesel" berkapasitas 50x100 kW dan 100x50 kW dengan PT Bumi Loka senilai Rp37,99 miliar pada 10 Oktober 2007.

"Pembangkit ini telah beroperasi awal Nopember lalu," katanya.

Selain itu, juga pengadaan tiga unit PLTG masing-masing berkapasitas 1x11,86 MW dengan PT Indo Turbine-Medco senilai Rp123,55 miliar, 1x21,46 MW dengan PTB Imeco dan PT Indonesia Power senilai Rp271 miliar dan 1x34,1 MW dengan PT Barata, PT Inpar, dan PT Wahana senilai Rp311 miliar.

"Kontrak ketiga unit PLTG itu telah ditandatangani 26 Nopember 2007 dan akan beroperasi Januari ini," katanya. (*)

Restrukturisasi PLN Ditargetkan Rampung Maret 2008

2008-01-24T15:01:00.001+07:00

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Restrukturisasi PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) ditargetkan selesai pada Maret 2008 termasuk perombakan manajemen BUMN tersebut.

"PLN terlalu sentralistik, dia mempunyai 43 unit usaha dan banyak direksi sehingga bisa mempersulit gerak PLN akibatnya nanti siapa yang akan peduli kalau ada mati listrik di daerah pelosok," kata Menteri Negara BUMN Sofyan Djalil di Jakarta, Senin.

Ia mengatakan, wewenang direksi terlalu luas sehingga dikhawatirkan tidak mampu memonitor seluruhnya.

"Maret nanti akan ada blue printnya jadi semua unit usaha PLN akan menjadi anak usahanya yang diharapkan bisa lebih baik," katanya.

Menurut dia, sentralisasi seperti yang diterapkan PLN saat ini kurang tepat sehingga unit-unit usaha tersebut direncanakan menjadi anak perusahaan yang diharapkan mampu mempercepat proses pengambilan keputusan.

Pada Maret 2008 nanti juga akan dilakukan perombakan direksi PLN.

"Kita belum tahu berapa yang akan diganti tapi ini berkaitan salah satunya dengan habisnya masa jabatan direksi-direksi tersebut," katanya. (*)

Pemakaian BBM PLN Pada 2008 Tetap Tinggi

2008-01-24T15:00:00.001+07:00

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - PT PLN (Persero) mengungkapkan pemakaian bahan bakar minyak (BBM) pembangkit PLN pada 2008 akan tetap tinggi seperti 2007.

Dirut PLN, Eddie Widiono, dalam rapat dengar pendapat dengan Komisi VII DPR di Jakarta, Kamis, menjelaskan pada 2008 pemakaian BBM diperkirakan mencapai 10,66 juta kiloliter atau mengalami kenaikan dibandingkan 2007 yang 10,26 juta kiloliter.

"BBM tetap mendominasi bahan bakar pembangkit PLN," katanya.

Dari perkiraan pemakaian BBM sebanyak 10,66 juta kiloliter, sebanyak 7,23 juta kiloliter di antaranya berupa solar (high speed diesel/HSD) dan minyak bakar (marine fuel oil/MFO) 3,43 juta kiloliter.

Sedang, realisasi pemakaian BBM tahun 2007 yang mencapai 10,26 juta kiloliter terdiri dari HSD 7,55 juta kiloliter dan MFO 2,71 juta kiloliter.

Namun demikian, katanya, pihaknya akan mengimbangi kenaikan pemakaian BBM dengan menurunkan biaya BBM.

Di antaranya dengan melelang sebagian kebutuhan BBM, memakai batubara kalori rendah ke sejumlah PLTU, seperti Suralaya dan memaksimalkan pemakaian gas dan batubara.

Selain itu, PLN juga mengubah pemakaian HSD ke MFO, menyewa pembangkit MFO, gas, dan batubara, serta penambahan daya sejumlah pembangkit gas.

Untuk gas dan batubara, menurut Eddie, pemakaian gas 2008 diperkirakan mencapai 198.105 MMBTU atau naik dibandingkan 2007 yang 169.360 MMBTU dan batubara 2008 turun menjadi 20,96 juta ton dari 2007 21,9 juta ton.

"Pemakaian gas naik karena mulai masuknya pasokan dari pipa Sumsel-Jabar (SSWJ)," katanya. (*)

PLN Minta Jaminan Pasokan Gas dan Batu Bara

2008-01-24T14:59:00.001+07:00

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - PT PLN (Persero) meminta dukungan kebijakan pemerintah yang menjamin kepastian pasokan gas dan batu bara untuk memenuhi kebutuhan dalam negeri.

Dirut PLN Eddie Widiono dalam rapat dengar pendapat dengan Komisi VII DPR di Jakarta, Kamis, mengatakan jaminan tersebut diperlukan guna meminimalkan dampak kenaikan harga minyak terhadap besaran subsidi listrik.

"Kenaikan harga minyak akan berdampak pada peningkatan subsidi listrik, karenanya perlu dukungan kebijakan pemerintah yang antara lain menjamin pasokan gas dan batu bara," katanya.

Menurut dia, ketidaklancaran pasokan gas dan batubara akan membuat PLN harus menggunakan lebih banyak BBM.

Pada 2008, pemakaian BBM diperkirakan mencapai 10,66 juta kiloliter atau mengalami kenaikan dibandingkan 2007 yang 10,26 juta kiloliter.

Eddie juga mengatakan, pihaknya bersedia membeli gas alam sesuai dengan harga pasar asalkan ada jaminan kepastian pasokannya.

Dukungan kebijakan pemerintah lainnya, lanjut Eddie, adalah
pemberlakuan kewajiban pasok ke dalam negeri (domestic market
obligation/DMO) batubara.

"Kebijakan ini juga harus diimbangi dengan pengaturan harga batubara buat dalam negeri," katanya.

Ia juga mengharapkan, penangguhan kebijakan pembatasan kapal angkut batubara, sampai adanya penambahan kapal baru dan kebijakan pengembangan pembangkit panas bumi yang menurunkan risiko dan biaya.

Anggota Komisi VII DPR Effendi Simbolon menyatakan, pemerintah memang seharusnya menjamin kepastian pasokan gas dan batubara buat memenuhi kebutuhan dalam negeri.

"Bahkan, PLN seharusnya memikiki tambang batubara dan kapal pengangkut batu bara sendiri untuk menjamin pasokannya," katanya.

Pada kesempatan itu, Eddie mengatakan, sebagai upaya menjamin
kelancaran batu bara, maka PLN akan meningkatkan stok batubara PLTU antara 1-1,5 bulan operasi, dan berkontrak jangka panjang lebih dari lima tahun untuk pembangkit terpasang dan 20 tahun untuk pembangkit yang akan dibangun dengan beberapa pemasok.

Selanjutnya, melakukan eskalasi harga dengan formula yang komponennya adalah perubahan nilai tukar, kenaikan harga BBM, dan indeks harga batubara.

Eddie juga mengungkapkan, kontrak gas selalu berdasarkan kaidah "reasonable endeavour" yakni pemasok melakukan upaya terbaik dengan pengawasan BP Migas.

"Pembeli tidak dapat mengenakan sanksi apabila pasokan tidak sesuai kontrak. Ini memang berlaku umum dalam bisnis gas, namun menyulitkan kami," katanya.(*)

PENJELASAN DIREKSI PADA PERTEMUAN “TEA MORNING”

2008-01-20T16:51:00.001+07:00

Di PLN KANTOR PUSAT, 17 JANUARI 2008

Pada hari Kamis tgl 17 Januari 2008, bertempat di Kantor Pusat PT PLN (Persero), Jakarta telah diadakan pertemuan "TEA MORNING" yang dihadiri Karyawan/wati Kantor Pusat, Para Pengurus/Anggota Serikat Pekerja serta beberapa Direksi PT PLN (Persero), maka dengan ini disampaikan beberapa hal penting yang perlu diketahui khususnya menyangkut masalah Restrukturisasi dan Fasilitas Kesehatan hasil RUPS PLN 2008, yaitu :

Direksi akan menyikapi hasil RUPS PLN 2008 secara arif dan bijaksana dengan memperhatikan Ketentuan ketentuan dalam Anggaran Dasar serta Peraturan Perundangan yang berlaku
Direksi akan mengedepankan kepentingan Pelanggan, Karyawan dan Pemegang Saham
Dilandasi pemahaman bahwa niat pemegang saham di dalam menugaskan restrukturisasi korporat kepada Direksi di Tahun 2008 adalah untuk meningkatkan efisiensi, maka Direksi memandang perlu untuk menyiapkan kajian yang mendalam antara lain menyangkut dasar hukum. Untuk itu Direksi telah menunjuk MCG (Management Consulting Group) untuk menyiapkan kerangka acuan sebagai pedoman untuk melakukan kajian khususnya dampak restrukturisasi korporat.
Mengingat tanggungjawab PLN dan karyawan / karyawati yang semakin berat di masa mendatang, maka Direksi akan mengupayakan sekuat tenaga agar upaya-upaya efisiensi yang dilakukan tetap berjalan tanpa harus mengurangi hak-hak yang selama ini diterima karyawan.
Direksi memintaKaryawan/wati diseluruh Indonesia untuk tetap bekerja dengan tenang tidak memberikan respons yang berlebihan atas isu tersebut dan mengutamakan pelayanan kepada Pelanggan serta mempercayakan sepenuhnya tindak lanjut hasil RUPS PLN 2008 kepada Direksi PT PLN (Persero)

Demikian agar hal hal tersebut bisa dijadikan Pedoman bagi managemen serta Karyawan /wati PT PLN (Persero) diseluruh Indonesia,Terimakasih

Jakarta, 17 januari 2008

HUMAS PT PLN (Persero) Kantor Pusat

Pasokan Listrik 2008 Sulit Penuhi Kebutuhan RSH

2008-01-17T16:00:00.001+07:00

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Pemerintah belum menjamin akan mampu memenuhi pengadaan listrik bagi program Rumah Susun Sederhana (RSH) tahun 2008 yang ditargetkan sebanyak 225.000 unit.

Menurut Pejabat Ditjen Listrik dan Pemanfaatan Energi Departemen Energi dan Sumber Daya Mineral, Win Sisma, di Jakarta Rabu, pasokan listrik pada 2008 diperkirakan hanya 60 Mega Watt.

"Kemungkinan untuk memenuhi kebutuhan 75.000 juga masih sulit akibat dari keterbatasan pasokan listrik tahun 2008, Sehingga kelangkaan listrik bagi RSH masih akan dialami," ujarnya.

Kebutuhan listrik, kata Win, jauh di atas tambahan pasokan itu. Sekalipun belum dihitung secara persis data-data perumahan yang mengalami kessulitan akan tetapi pasti banyak menjadi korban.

Harus ditanya ke masing-masing wilayah kemudian disandingkan dengan laporan PLN. Namun PT PLN juga belum memberikan laporan soal kebutuhan listrik perumahan ke pemerintah.

Anggota Komisi Energi DPR, Agusman Effendi, mengatakan kerawanan listrik di Indonesia bakal terjadi hingga 2010.

"Tahun depan di luar Jawa-Bali akan kosong (tak ada listrik)," ujarnya. Pemicunya adalah kenaikan harga minyak mentah mencapai kisaran 80-90 dolar AS per barel.

Padahal asumsi harga minyak untuk subsidi 2008 hanya 60 dolar AS per barel. Kondisi ini yang akhirnya menyumbang kesulitan pengadaan listrik bagi RSH, jelas Agusman.(*)

Pasokan Listrik Jawa-Bali Terbatas Pada 2008

2008-01-17T15:58:00.001+07:00

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - PT PLN (Persero) memperkirakan pasokan listrik di wilayah Jawa dan Bali pada 2008 akan mengalami keterbatasan, sehubungan dengan tak adanya penambahan daya pembangkit baru berkapasitas cukup besar tahun depan.

Dirut PLN, Eddie Widiono, di Jakarta, Selasa, mengungkapkan pada 2008, pembangkit baru yang beroperasi hanya Pembangkit Listrik Panas Bumi (PLTP) Kamojang, Jabar Unit 4 dengan kapasitas 60 MW.

"Tahun depan, keandalan sistem Jawa-Bali masih akan tergantung pada ketersediaan batubara dan gas alam," katanya. Karena itu, kata Eddie, PLN harus mengendalikan pertumbuhan kebutuhan listrik tahun 2008.

Menurut dia, pihaknya hanya merencanakan pertumbuhan tenaga listrik sebesar empat persen atau di bawah kondisi normal 6-7 persen.

Komposisi energi primer pada 2008 yang disiapkan adalah batubara 58.668 Giga Watt hour (GWh) atau mencakup 53 persen, minyak 22.457 GWh (20 persen), gas 18.208 GWh (16 persen), panas bumi 7.923 GWh (tujuh persen), dan air 4.415 GWh (empat persen).

Melihat komposisi energi primer itu, peranan minyak masih dominan dan akan semakin meningkat apabila terjadi gangguan ketersediaan gas dan batubara seperti 2007.

Pada 2007, rencananya pemakaian BBM hanya sebesar 7,65 juta kiloliter, namun terpaksa naik menjadi 10,02 juta kiloliter akibat gangguan pasokan batubara dan gas alam.

Sementara pada 2008, kuota APBN hanya menetapkan 9,1 juta kiloliter, padahal kebutuhan BBM PLN diperkirakan mencapai 10,6 juta kiloliter.

"Kenaikan harga minyak dunia telah membuat industri mengalihkan pasokan listriknya ke PLN yang berakibat meningkatnya konsumsi BBM PLN," kata Eddie.

Pembengkakan pemakaian BBM itu berakibat kenaikan biaya produksi yang berlanjut pada subsidi yang harus ditanggung APBN.

Di tambah lagi, lanjutnya, pemeliharaan sejumlah pembangkit yang dijadwalkan 2009 dimajukan menjadi 2008 untuk memperkuat pasokan saat pemilu 2009.

"Dampaknya, potensi kekurangan daya listrik di sistem Jawa-Bali pada tahun depan akan semakin besar," katanya.

Karena itu, PLN juga meminta masyarakat lebih berhemat secara serius dan konsisten sesuai Inpres No 10 Tahun 2005. "Tahun depan, pilihannya hanya dua, berhemat atau padam," ujar Eddie.

Sistem Jawa-Bali akan kembali normal setelah beroperasinya sejumlah pembangkit 10.000 MW yang diperkirakan mulai beroperasi akhir 2009 hingga awal 2010. (*)

IDM Sukseskan Pengadaan Listrik 10.000 Megawatt

2008-01-17T15:55:00.001+07:00

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Lembaga kajian Indonesia Development Monitoring (IDM) bekerjasama organisasi lintas sektoral mendukung untuk menyukseskan proyek pengadaan listrik 10.000 Megawatt oleh PT PLN, kata Direktur IDM, Dwi Mardianto, SH.

"Dukungan itu dimaksudkan agar seluruh rakyat Indonesia pada tahun 2020 terpenuhi kebutuhan energi listrik, saat ini atau pada 2007 baru 55 persen penduduk menikmati listrik," katanya dalam keterangan tertulis di Jakarta, Rabu.

Dwi mengatakan, dalam memberikan dukungan kepada penyelenggaraan proyek pengadaan listrik 10.000 Megawatt itu, IDM akan bekerjasama dengan organisasi-organisasi lain seperti Gerakan Pemuda Kerakyatan, Gerakan Regenerasi Nasional, serta beberapa serikat buruh.

"IDM memberikan dukungan kepada penyelenggaraan proyek pengadaan listrik 10.000 Megawatt semata-mata didasari niat tulus untuk menyelamatkan masyarakat Indonesia dari krisis energi yang dapat membahayakan bagi semua," ujarnya.

Menurut Dwi, bentuk dukungan IDM, antara lain mempublikasikan Jurnal Pemantauan proyek tersebut yang akan dilakukan setiap tiga bulan sekali. "Jurnal tersebut berisi hasil pemantauan IDM terhadap jalannya proyek tersebut yang dilengkapi dengan kritikan dan saran membangun kepada penyelenggara proyek agar proyek tersebut bisa terus berjalan lancar dan bisa selesai sesuai target waktu," katanya.

Berdasarkan jurnal tersebut IDM juga akan melakukan lobby terbuka terhadap pihak-pihak terkait untuk membantu menyelesaikan kendala yang ditemui dalam penyelenggaraan proyek tersebut. Lobby terbuka ini penting untuk memberikan data non subyektif dan bisa dipercaya guna menjadi dasar pengambilan keputusan pihak-pihak terkait.

IDM meminta kepada Badan Pemeriksa Keuangan (BPK) untuk lebih fleksibel dalam memeriksa keuangan PT PLN, karena banyak kendala non teknis yang dihadapi PLN sehingga terkadang harus keluar dari Rencana Kerja dan Anggaran Perusahaan (RKAP) yang ditetapkan sebelumnya seperti contoh dalam pengadaan cadangan bahan bakar untuk keperluan pembangkit energi listrik sering di indikasikan sebagai dana yang menganggur atau kadang disebut sebagai peyelewengan dari RKAP tanpa melihat keadaan sebenarnya yang terjadi di PLN.

IDM meyerukan kepada pemerintah mengenai permasalahan kekurangan bahan bakar untuk pembangkit untuk lebih tegas dalam membuat kebijakan pemerintah terkait dengan kebutuhan energi primer untuk sektor ketenagalistrikan.

Pemerintah harus mengkaji opsi pemenuhan kebutuhan batu bara. Untuk mengantisipasi bertambahnya kebutuhan pemakaian batu bara untuk sektor kelistrikan dalam dua tahun ke depan, opsi yang harus disiapkan adalah mengubah royalti batu bara dari bentuk tunai ke bentuk barang. Yang nantinya royalti dalam bentuk batu bara dapat digunakan oleh PT PLN dalam mendukung suplai untuk pembangkit listriknya.

Pemerintah juga perlu menyiapkan sarana dan infrastruktur pendukung pasokan batu bara. Aturan yang melarang kapal berbendera asing mengangkut batu bara menjadi faktor yang mengancam keamanan pasokan ke depan, sebab pertumbuhan armada kapal di dalam negeri belum sanggup mengimbangi kenaikan pasokan.

Selaian itu, IDM menyatakan yang diperlukan saat ini adalah langkah nyata, sebab baik dari sisi kebijakan, program maupun target pengembangan energi baru dan terbarukan rasanya sudah tidak ada yang perlu diragukan lagi terhadap kinerja manajemen PLN yang berkomitmen membangun kelistrikan.

"Tinggal, bagaimana pengalokasian dana pengembangan energi baru dan terbarukan bisa berjalan dengan baik. Tujuannya untuk memberikan manfaat sebesar-besarnya bagi masyarakat yang membutuhkan listrik. Mari bantu dan dukung agar Visi 75-100 PT PLN dapat terwujud," demikian Dwi Mardianto.(*)

Sistem Voucher Listrik Akan Diberlakukan di Kepulauan Seribu

2008-01-17T15:54:00.001+07:00

14/01/08 16:45

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Pemerintah Provinsi DKI Jakarta bersama-sama dengan Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) unit distribusi Jakarta akan memberlakukan sistem prabayar dalam penggunaan tenaga listrik menyusul peresmian layanan listrik 24 jam di kecamatan Kepulauan Seribu Selatan pada akhir Januari 2008.

Bupati Kepulauan Seribu Djoko Ramadhan di Balaikota Jakarta, Senin, mengatakan penggunaan sistem itu sebagai usaha agar masyarakat memanfaatkan layanan listik itu secara efisien dan tepat guna sekaligus melindungi dari penggunaan listrik yang mengakibatkan tingginya pembayaran rekening listrik.

"Dengan menggunakan sistem itu maka masyarakat dapat mengukur sendiri kebutuhan mereka. PLN akan menyediakan voucher itu di kantor kelurahan mereka menyiapkan pos-pos pelayanan warga," ujarnya.

Ia menambahkan rencananya Gubernur DKI Jakarta Fauzi Bowo akan meresmikan sistem pelayanan listrik 24 jam di Kepulauan Seribu Selatan dengan menggunakan kabel bawah laut yang dibangun sejak 2007.

"Peresmian akan dilakukan pada 26 Januari pukul 10.00 WIB di Pulau Untung Jawa. Pada tahap awal akan mengaliri pulau Untung Jawa, Pulau Pari dan Pulau Tidung," tegasnya.

Sementara itu ketika disinggung tentang ketersediaan minyak tanah di Kepulauan Seribu, Djoko mengatakan, saat ini pasokan dan persediaan yang ada cukup baik.

"Kepulauan Seribu tidak termasuk wilayah yang ikut dalam program konversi minyak tanah ke gas. Di setiap pulau ada agen minyak tanah sehingga ketersediaan aman," paparnya.

Demikian juga dengan solar untuk kebutuhan nelayan, stasiun pengisian bahan bakar bagi nelayan di Pulau Tidung pun tidak kekurangan pasokan, sehingga nelayan dapat melaut seperti biasa.

Sebelumnya, kabel bawah laut mulai dibangun sejak awal 2007 sepanjang 43 kilometer yang berawal dari Teluk Naga di Pulau Untung Jawa melalui Pulau Lancang hingga Pulau Tidung dengan aliran listriknya berasal dari gardu induk milik PLN di Tanjung Pasir.

Jalur kabel bawah laut itu dimulai dari gardu induk di Tanjung Pasir menuju Pulau Untung Jawa, Pulau Pari, Pulau Pancang, Pulau Payung dan berakhir di Pulau Tidung.

"Adanya listrik 24 jam di Kecamatan Kepulauan Seribu Selatan tersebut akan mendorong peningkatan ekonomi dan kesejahteraan masyarakat. Karena selama ini aliran listrik dari pembangkit listrik tenaga diesel hanya beroperasi sejak pukul 17.00 WIB hingga pukul 05.00 WIB lebih dari itu tidak ada listrik," kata Djoko.

Dengan kondisi itu, menurut Djoko, maka warga sulit mengembangkan industri kecil padahal di kawasan itu potensi hasil laut cukup banyak dari mulai kepiting, ikan teri hingga jenis ikan laut lainnya.

"Warga sulit melakukan diversifikasi produk sehingga yang dijual hanya bahan mentahnya, sulit membuat produk olahan, sehingga banyak produk dari Kepulauan Seribu yang dikemas oleh pihak lain dengan lebih baik," tegasnya.

Sejumlah pulau di kawasan Kecamatan Kepulauan Seribu Selatan yang akan mendapat aliran listrik adalah Pulau Untung Jawa, Pulau Pari, Pulau Pancang, Pulau Payung dan Pulau Tidung.

"Pada 2008 kabel listrik bawah laut itu akan dikembangkan ke Kecamatan Kepulauan Seribu Utara dan akan mengaliri Pulau Panggang, Pulau Pramuka, Pulau Harapan, Pulau Kelapa dan Pulau Panjang. Pulau Panjang sendiri nantinya akan ada pelabuhan udara," paparnya.

Investasi pembangunan kabel bawah laut itu senilai Rp240 miliar. Nilai itu lebih kecil dibandingkan alokasi anggaran untuk penyediaan listrik dari pembangkit listrik tenaga diesel saat ini yang setahunnya memakan anggaran Rp45 miliar. (*)

PLN Luncurkan Listrik Prabayar

2008-01-17T15:51:00.001+07:00

17/01/08 14:31

Bandung (ANTARA News) - PLN Persero Distribusi Jawa Barat dan Banten (DJBB) meluncurkan pelayanan listrik prabayar dengan memanfaatkan fasilitas "on-line payment point".

Peluncuran layanan listrik prabayar pertama di Indonesia itu dilakukan oleh Direktur PT PLN Persero Eddie Widiono di Bandung, Kamis.

Hadir pula Dirut Bank Bukopin Glen Glenardi, Dirut PT Pos Indonesia Hana Suryana, Direktur Niaga dan Pelayanan Pelanggan PLN Sunggu Aritonang serta General Manajer PLN Distribusi Jabar Banten Murtaqi Syamsudin

"Sebagai tahap pertama, layanan listrik Prabayar ini dilakukan di wilayah Bandung. Ditargetkan pertengahan 2008 ini seluruh Jabar - Banten bisa menikmati layanan ini," kata Dirut PLN, Eddie Widiono.

Pelayanan listrik prabayar pada tahap pertama bekerjasama dengan Bank Bukopin yang telah menyiapkan jaringannya untuk program.

Untuk mendapatkan layanan ini, kata Eddie pelangan bisa mengajukan ke unit PLN terdekat. Dengan sistem ini pelangan dapat membeli `token` (isi ulang kWh) di payment point dan ATM yang ditentukan.

"Nilai token bervariasi mulai Rp20.000 hingga Rp500.000. Sedangkan untuk program flexible ada yang hingga Rp1 juta. Target awal pelanggan rumah tangga," katanya.

Eddie mengatakan, listrik prabayar merupakan cara baru bagi pelanggan untuk mengelola sendiri pemakaian listrik sesuai kebutuhannya.

Sistem ini merupakan terobosan PLN untuk memberikan kesempatan pelanggan mengatur pemakaian listriknya. Tarifnya setara harga listrik pasca bayar dan mengacu pada TDL, ucapnya.

Sementara itu, General Manager PLN DJBB, Murtaqi Syamsudin mengatakan, tahap awal pelanggan bisa membeli token di payment point Bank Bukopin.

"Dua minggu ke depan bisa dibeli di Kantor Pos yang on-line. Pertengahan 2008 diharapkan 33 bank yang ada di Indonesia tersambung ke program ini dengan sistem lebih lengkap dengan sms banking," katanya.

Sementara itu Dirut Bank Bukopin, Glen Glenardi mengatakan, kesempatan kerjasama itu merupakan suatu hal yang berarti bagi Bukopin, PLN dan pelanggan PLN.

"Ini terobosan dan prestasi luar biasa, diharapkan ke depan sistem ini berlaku di seluruh Indonesia," katanya.

Menurut Glen, program pembayaran payment on-line bank (PPOB) yang diselenggarakan bersama dengan PLN di Jawa Barat cukup berhasil dimana pelanggan PLN sudah terbisa menggunakan sistem itu.

Hal itu terlihat dari data 2007 dimana dari total 7,5 juta pelanggan PLN Jabar sudah lebih dari 5,9 juta pelanggan membayar tagihan listriknya melalui mekanisme pembayaran itu.(*)

PLN Direstrukturisasi

2008-01-16T05:45:00.001+07:00

Dibentuk Lima Anak Perusahaan Baru

Jakarta, Kompas - Rapat Umum Pemegang Saham PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara memutuskan melakukan restrukturisasi dan reorganisasi besar-besaran di tubuh perusahaan. Akhir tahun ini, lima wilayah distribusi di Jawa dan Bali diubah menjadi anak perusahaan baru untuk mendorong desentralisasi pengelolaan listrik.

Komisaris Utama PT PLN Alhilal Hamdi, Kamis (10/9), mengemukakan PLN pusat hanya akan menjadi holding, sementara operasi dilakukan anak-anak perusahaan. Pembentukan PLN distribusi Jakarta dan Tangerang, Jawa Barat dan Banten, Jawa Tengah, Jawa Timur, dan Bali, akan mendorong diferensiasi tarif di tiap wilayah yang menyesuaikan pada ketersediaan sumber energi primer di wilayah itu dan kemampuan konsumen.

"Contohnya di Bali, daya beli masyarakatnya lebih tinggi dari wilayah Banten sehingga tarifnya bisa dibedakan," ujar Alhilal.

Saat ini, PLN memiliki dua wilayah distribusi yang berstatus anak perusahaan yaitu PLN Tarakan dan PLN Batam. Kedua wilayah itu memberlakukan tarif dasar listrik yang berbeda dengan TDL nasional. Alhilal mengatakan daerah yang memiliki sumber daya energi primer berlimpah seperti Kalimantan seharusnya bisa menerapkan tarif listrik yang lebih kompetitif daripada Jawa. "Dengan begitu perkembangan industri dapat didorong ke luar daerah, pertumbuhan lebih merata," jelasnya.

Saat ini produksi listrik nasional masih sangat timpang. Sekitar 80 persen dihasilkan di Jawa, 11 persen di Sumatera, sedangkan Kalimantan dan Indonesia Timur hanya sekitar sembilan persen. Apabila daerah yang sumber daya energinya lebih banyak bisa menghasilkan listrik dengan biaya pokok produksi lebih murah, maka subsidi juga bisa berkurang. Rata-rata harga jual listrik PLN sekarang berkisar 6,2 sen dollar AS per kWh.

Dalam Rencana Kerja dan Anggaran Perusahaan (RKAP) 2008 biaya bahan bakar pembangkit diperkirakan mencapai Rp 84 triliun, sementara target penjualan listrik hanya Rp 79 triliun, sehingga dengan hitungan harga minyak 80 dollar AS per barrel, PLN membutuhkan subsidi Rp 69,7 triliun.

Dalam upaya mendorong desentralisasi pengelolaan kelistrikan, restrukturisasi juga akan dilakukan dalam organisasi direksi PLN pusat. Renncananya, posisi direktur pembangkit, direktur niaga, dan direktur transmisi dipindahkan di bawah direktur yang membawahi wilayah. Dengan desentralisasi itu diharapkan proses pembangunan pembangkit akan lebih mudah. "Nanti ada direktur yang akan membawahi wilayah Jawa Bali dan Madura, direktur wilayah Sumatera, dan direktur wilayah Indonesia bagian Timur. Di masing-masing wilayah akan ada deputi direktur pembangkit, niaga, transmisi, dan distribusi," papar Alhilal.

RUPS yang dilaksanakan Selasa lalu itu juga mengamanatkan PLN untuk segera menyiapkan dua anak perusahaannya yaitu PT Indonesia Power dan PT Pembangkitan Jawa Bali untuk menjadi Badan Usaha Milik Negara mandiri, lepas dari induknya.

Namun, Direktur Institute for Essential Services Reform Fabby Tumiwa mengingatkan konsekuensi yang muncul dengan rencana restrukturisasi PLN. "Koordinasi dalam perencanaan akan menjadi lebih sulit, biaya operasi bakal bertambah sementara PLN kan masih disubsidi. Energi dan sumber daya PLN akan terbuang untuk mengurusi restrukturisasi ini. Jangan-jangan nanti justru pembangunan infrastruktur kelistrikan terbengkalai," ujar Fabby.

Dalam RKAP PLN 2008 tercatat sejumlah masalah yang dihadapi PLN yaitu posisi sebagai pelaksana pelayanan umum atau pengembangan bisnis. Selain itu sampai saat ini listrik masih berfungsi sebagai salah satu infrastruktur utama dibandingkan sebagai komoditi komersial.

Kondisi kelistrikan tahun ini masih berpotensi terjadi kekurangan terutama di sistem Jawa Bali yang pertumbuhan konsumsinya paling tinggi. Sementara belum ada pembangkit baru yang akan masuk ke sistem, ditambah lagi jadwal pemeliharaan beberapa pembangkit besar yang dimajukan ke tahun ini untuk menghindarkan pemadaman di saat pelaksanaan pemilihan umum tahun 2009. (DOT)

Operasional PLTU Tanjung Jati dan Cilacap Kembali Normal

2008-01-11T20:08:00.001+07:00

Penulis: Reva Sasistiya

JAKARTA--MEDIA: PLTU Tanjung Jati B dan PLTU Cilacap, Jawa Tengah, kembali beroperasi normal menyusul tersedianya pasokan batu bara. Demikian dikatakan General Manager Penyaluran dan Pengaturan Beban Jawa Bali PT PLN, Muljo Adji di Jakarta, Jumat (11/1).

Menurut Muljo, PLTU Tanjung Jati B yang berkapasitas 2x660 Mw telah beroperasi dengan pembebanan normal. Demikian pula dengan PLTU Cilacap yang berkapasitas 600 Mw.

"Berdasarkan informasi pukul 06:45, stok batu bara yang ada sebanyak 74.248 ton," ungkap Muljo.

Sejak masuknya kapal angkutan batu bara pada Rabu, kedua PLTU tersebut sudah kembali dihidupkan.

Tambahan pasokan batu bara untuk PLTU Tanjung Jati B sebanyak 40.000 ton mulai datang Minggu (6/1).

Tadinya, tiga kapal pengangkut batu bara yang bermuatan total 180.000 ton itu tidak bisa merapat karena buruknya cuaca.(

2008-01-11T04:43:00.001+07:00

Obama can't hide his Muslim past

There is something in 'rock star' Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's life story that is not an appropriate target in polite society, but won't quite go away, and is absolutely certain to come trumpeting into view when the race gets rough.

The elephant in the room is the Muslim bit. Obama's middle name is Hussein, as in Saddam Hussein. We know that; so what? Well, there are an awful lot of Americans who fervently believe the nation belongs to God, as in the fellow you find in Church. And in their 'war of civilisations', the Muslims are the Bad Guys.

Obama, says PR man Robert Gibbs, happens to have had a dad from Kenya, so Islam and Hussein are just part of the family legacy. "Senator Obama has never been a Muslim, was not raised a Muslim and is a committed Christian who attends the United Church of Christ in Chicago."

Clear? The Los Angeles Times sent a reporter to Jakarta in Indonesia where Obama's mum, Ann Dunham, took him with husband number two, Lolo Soetoro, when he was six. His name then was Barry Soetoro, and he stayed until he was 10 years old.

"Barry was a Muslim. He went to the mosque," revealed boyhood buddy Zulfin Adi. His primary school teacher said he was registered as a Muslim and so he attended Koranic religious class.

Americans have nightmares about fervent young men who grew up in Muslim religious schools. At the very least, and however unfairly, this is dynamite material for Republicans as new national opinion polls show Obama cutting Hillary Clinton's lead to single digits.

Obama is hurriedly shifting ground. Now he was a Muslim; but never a "practising Muslim".

Karyawan PLN Tolak Direksi Baru dari Luar

2008-01-10T04:22:00.001+07:00

JAKARTA--MEDIA: Karyawan PT PLN (Persero) yang tergabung dalam Serikat Pekerja (SP) PT PLN (Persero) menolak calon Direksi dari luar perusahaan, karena dikhawatirkan hanya memiliki misi pada profit taking saja tetapi tidak memperhatikan sisi 'benefit'.

"Sebenarnya kami bukan bermaksud untuk menolak calon direksi dari luar, tetapi dari pengalaman lampau, direksi dari luar tubuh PLN justru memecah belah PLN dan menswastanisasi PLN," kata Ketua Umum Dewan Pimpinan Pusat SP PT PLN (Persero), Ahmad Daryoko, di Jakarta, Rabu (9/1).

Sikap yang diambil oleh SP PLN tersebut, menurut dia, bukan berarti mendukung kepemimpinan saat ini. Karena SP lebih melihat bahwa calon dari

dalam tubuh perusahaan akan lebih memahami fungsi dan keberadaan perusahaan yang memegang hajat hidup orang banyak tersebut.

Dia mengharapkan penunjukan direksi baru PLN untuk periode 2008-2013 nanti dapat memilih orang yang tepat yang memiliki visi kelayakan, dan bukan menjadikan PLN sebagai visi bisnis. "Direksi harus memiliki pemahaman soal kelistrikan yang memegang hajat hidup orang banyak, bukan hanya berorientasi profit semata," ujar dia.

Selain itu, menurut dia, direksi PLN periode lima tahun kedepan juga harus memiliki semangat 'kekitaan'. Tidak justru memecah belah PLN. Daryoko mengatakan keinginan Rapat Umum Pemegang Saham (RUPS) PT PLN (Persero), Selasa (8/1), justru mengindikasikan adanya rencana untuk memecah perusahaan listrik tersebut.

"Dari RUPS kemarin memerintahkan agar PT PLN (Persero) akan dijadikan holding, sedangkan cabang di daerah akan dijadikan anak perusahaan dengan bentuk Perum," katanya.

Bahkan, Daryoko mengatakan, ada rencana untuk menjadikan Indonesia Power dan Pembangkit Jawa-Bali (PJB) menjadi unit bisnis yang terpisah. Dia berpendapat bahwa keputusan RUPS tersebut bertentangan dengan keputusan Mahkamah Konstitusi (MK) yang menetapkan perusahaan listrik tersebut adalah perusahaan negara yang memegang hajat hidup orang banyak.

Selain melakukan pernyataan sikap, SP PLN juga mendatangi Kementerian BUMN di Medan Merdeka Selatan. Dan rencananya SP PLN juga akan mengkonfirmasi rencana pemecahan PLN tersebut pada MK beberapa hari kedepan.(Ant/OL-2)

Hillary-Obama Bersaing Ketat

2008-01-09T16:23:00.001+07:00

09/01/2008 10:09 Amerika Serikat

Liputan6.com, New Hampshire: Hasil sementara tahapan primary di Negara Bagian New Hampshire, Amerika Serikat, menunjukkan Barack Obama dan Hillary Rodham Clinton bersaing ketat. Ini terlihat dari penghitungan suara 44 persen dari seluruh precinct atau kelurahan di negara bagian tersebut.

Hillary Clinton meraih 39 persen suara, sedangkan Barack Obama 36 persen suara. Tempat ketiga diduduki mantan Senator North Carolina, John Edwards, dengan 17 persen suara. Di kubu Partai Republik, senator Negara Bagian Arizona, John McCain, meraih 38 persen suara. Sementara Romney hanya 30 persen suara. Pemenang kaukus Iowa pekan silam Mike Huckabee hanya meraih 12 persen suara. Hingga saat ini proses penghitungan suara masih terus berlangsung .

Barack Obama jumps into the lead in New Hampshire

2008-01-07T15:29:00.001+07:00

Reuters News

Posted: 2008-01-06 20:52:48

By Ellen Wulfhorst and Jason Szep

NASHUA, New Hampshire (Reuters) - Democrat Hillary Clinton battled to keep crucial New Hampshire from swinging to rising rival Barack Obama on Sunday but new polls showed him jumping into the lead.

In the hotly contested Republican race, Arizona Sen. John McCain leaped ahead of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney even as Romney tried to raise doubts about McCain.

Republican candidates engaged in a Fox News Channel debate on Sunday night.

Obama, an Illinois senator seeking to be the first black U.S. president, built on his victory in Iowa last week with a significant bounce in New Hampshire, which votes on Tuesday.

New Hampshire's primary is the next battleground in the state-by-state process of choosing Republican and Democratic candidates for November's election to replace President George W. Bush.

A USA Today/Gallup poll said Obama had opened up a 13-point lead over Clinton in New Hampshire, 41 percent to 28 percent, to 19 percent for former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards.

A WMUR/CNN tracking poll, taken over the weekend, showed Obama leading Clinton, 39 to 29 percent.

Earlier polls had shown the race to be a dead heat between Clinton and Obama.

A loss in New Hampshire would be a significant blow to Clinton in the New York senator's drive to become the first woman U.S. president.

Trying to salvage New Hampshire, the former first lady engaged in some of her heaviest attacks against Obama in the months-long campaign.

In Nashua, Clinton said that while Obama talks a lot about changing the United States, she believes she has actually carried out change. Change from the Bush administration is a leading theme in the presidential campaign.

"It is about how we bring about change by making sure we nominate and elect a doer and not a talker, that we begin to separate out rhetoric from reality," Clinton told a large, enthusiastic crowd in Nashua.

Accusing Obama and Edwards of not showing leadership on a litany of issues, she said, "That's not change," and the crowd joined in with her.

"That's not change," they yelled.

Obama, at a rally at a high school in Salem, fired back: "We don't need our leaders telling us what we can't do. We need our leaders to believe in what we can accomplish."

The race was taking a negative turn on both sides in a state that is vital to efforts by Clinton and Romney to revitalize their campaigns after disappointing showings last Thursday in Iowa.

Obama received the endorsement of former New Jersey Sen. Bill Bradley, who finished a close second to then Vice President Al Gore in the 2000 Democratic primary here.

MCCAIN AHEAD OF ROMNEY

The USA Today/Gallup poll said McCain had taken the lead over Romney, 34 percent to 30 percent. A win for McCain in New Hampshire would be a remarkable turnaround for him after his campaign suffered money problems last summer and was all but given up for dead.

Romney, who would be the first Mormon president, needs to win or finish high in New Hampshire to maintain his credibility after losing to former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee in Iowa.

At a rally in Nashua, Romney said he doubted McCain would stand up well against Obama, who he said was succeeding against veteran Democratic senators in the presidential race.

"Are we going to do the same thing and put another long-serving U.S. senator up against him for him to talk about. Or are we going to put somebody -- I hope it's me -- somebody who has spent his lifetime not just in politics, not in Washington, but changing things?" Romney said.

(Additional reporting by John Whitesides, Mark Egan in New Hampshire, Missy Ryan, Leslie Wroughton and David Wiessler in Washington; Writing by Steve Holland; editing by Eric Beech)

(For more about the U.S. political campaign, visit Reuters "Tales from the Trail: 2008" online at http://blogs.reuters.com/trail08/)

01/06/2008 20:17 EST

Clinton, Obama Clash in Personal Terms

2008-01-07T15:28:00.001+07:00

By JIM KUHNHENN,

Posted: 2008-01-06 22:37:25

MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) - The leading Democratic presidential candidates clashed Sunday over each other's claim to be the true candidate of change in the final hours of the slushy New Hampshire homestretch. Hillary Clinton told voters they should elect "a doer, not a talker." Barack Obama countered that his rivals are stuck in the politics of the past.

At a raucous rally in a high school gymnasium in Nashua, Clinton skewered Obama for several votes he has cast in the Senate, such as his vote in favor of the Patriot Act and for energy legislation she described as "Dick Cheney's energy bill." She never mentioned Obama's name but left no doubt about whom she was discussing.

"You campaign in poetry, you govern in prose," Clinton said.

Obama, speaking at a packed Manchester theater, took issue with Clinton's criticism of him during Saturday's Democratic presidential debate.

"One of my opponents said we can't just, you know, offer the American people false hopes about what we can get done," he said.

"The real gamble in this election is to do the same things, with the same folks, playing the same games over and over and over again and somehow expect a different result," he said. "That is a gamble we cannot afford, that is a risk we cannot take. Not this time. Not now. It is time to turn the page."

The rhetoric reflected the potentially pivotal nature of Tuesday's primary. Obama, the freshman Illinois senator, is hoping to sustain momentum from his caucus victory in Iowa, and Clinton is looking to recover from her stinging third-place finish.

A new USA Today-Gallup poll showed Obama opening up a lead at 41 percent, Clinton 28 percent, and John Edwards 19 percent. The New Hampshire poll was taken Friday through Sunday.

One of the sharpest exchanges of the day came when Edwards and the Clinton campaign traded words over Edwards' reference to last month's death of a 17-year-old girl, Nataline Sarkisyan of California, in making his case for challenging the health insurance industry.

Edwards, speaking to reporters in Keene, said Clinton and her advisers "have no conscience" after a Clinton aide suggested Edwards was using medical victims "as talking points" in his presidential bid. Edwards campaigned with Sarkisyan family members Sunday.

In Saturday's televised debate from Manchester, Clinton acknowledged that Edwards helped the Senate pass a "patient bill of rights," but she noted that the measure died in the House.

"One of the reasons that Nataline may well have died is because there isn't a patient's bill of rights," Clinton said in the debate.

On Sunday, she said her point was that Edwards "answered a question about what his greatest accomplishment was in the Senate by trying to mislead people that a bill he worked on became law."

Sunday's campaign tone picked up from the debate, when Obama and Edwards seemed to work in tandem to deny Clinton's claim that she is the best prepared to undertake change.

Edwards told reporters that he and Obama offer real change to voters, while Clinton represents "the status quo." He also argued he has more passion for change and would be more willing to fight for his goals than Obama. "He just believes you can negotiate with people," Edwards said.

Asked Sunday about an alliance with Obama, Edwards said, "I think there is a conviction alliance." Then he added, "First of all, I wouldn't go so far as to call it an alliance. Let me disagree with that. .

"

Obama aides found themselves on the defensive after Clinton said during Saturday's debate that Obama's New Hampshire campaign co-chairman, Jim Demers, is a lobbyist whose clients include pharmaceutical companies. The Clinton campaign kept up the criticism Sunday morning in a teleconference call with reporters, noting that Obama has repeatedly said he does not take money from federal lobbyists or political action committees.

Obama communications director Robert Gibbs said Demers is a state lobbyist and does not do business involving federal legislation or regulation. He said the campaign has drawn a distinction between lobbyists who are registered to work at the state level and those who lobby the federal government.

"A ban on lobbying money and PACs is far from perfect," Gibbs said. "There is a difference between a college football player and professional football player," he added.

During the debate, while Clinton referred to Demers, the camera caught Obama shaking his head, saying "not so."

"He was shaking his head because her implication was that it violated our lobbyist pledge and his role quite clearly does not," Obama spokesman Bill Burton said.

Obama sounded an upbeat tone throughout the day, telling New Hampshire crowds their votes could propel him to the Democratic nomination.

"You will have the chance to change America in two days time," he said. "In two days we can do what the cynics said could not be done. We will have the chance to come together, Democrats, Republicans, independents and announce that we are one nation, we are one people and it is time for change in America. This is our moment, this is our time."

Meanwhile, the former first lady was clearly elated to be greeted by a large, enthusiastic audience in the same Nashua high school that Obama filled the day before. Both candidates had to use a second gym for the overflow crowd.

With the war still prominent in the minds of New Hampshire voters, Clinton said at one stop: "After 9/11, I would never have taken us to war in Iraq. I would have stayed focused on Afghanistan because the real threat was coming from there."

Pressed by a reporter later to explain the comment given her vote to support the use of military force in Iraq, Clinton said it was nothing different from what she'd said in the past. "At the time that vote took place, I said it wasn't a vote for pre-emptive war," she said

Earlier Sunday, Clinton and daughter Chelsea braved slushy sidewalks to go door to door in Manchester for about an hour seeking votes.

After leaving one house, Clinton was asked by a TV reporter how she felt about the Democratic debate the night before.

"Really good," the senator said. "We're starting to draw a contrast for New Hampshire voters between talkers and doers."

Mary Johnson, 60, a retired school teacher, said Clinton's visit was "a wonderful surprise." She said was leaning toward Obama, though she said he looked tired in Saturday's debate. "He didn't impress me. So we'll see."

Clinton, she said, "has always been my second choice."

Husband Bill was campaigning in North Conway, N.H., sticking to the key word "change."

"There's a different between talk and action. It makes a big difference if you've actually changed people's lives, if it's the work of your life," the former president said.

Associated Press writers Beth Fouhy, Nedra Pickler, Charles Babington and Holly Ramer contributed to this report.

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. Active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.

01/06/08 22:36 EST

Tender Pembangunan PLTU Asam-Asam Sepi Peminat

2008-01-07T04:49:00.001+07:00

Banjarmasin (ANTARA News) - Rencana pembangunan Pembangkit listrik tenaga uap (PLTU) Asam-Asam Kabupaten Tanah Laut (Tala) Kalimantan Selatan (Kalsel) sebesar 2x60 Mega Watt (MW) bakal molor, karena tender pertama yang dilakukan pada pertengahan 2007 gagal.

Kepala Pembangkit PT PLN Kalsel dan Kalimantan Tengah (Kalteng), Dwi Priyo Basuki, Minggu, mengungkapkan gagalnya tender pertama tersebut karena hingga akhir masa pendaftaran hanya dua perusahaan yang memasukkan penawaran.

Karena hanya dua perusahaan yang mengajukan penawaran, tambahnya, maka tim menyatakan tender tidak memenuhi persyaratan. Sesuai ketentuan, minimal yang ikut melakukan penawaran dalam tender tiga perusahaan.

Akibat kegagalan tender tahap pertama tersebut, pembangunan PLTU Asam-asam tertunda sehingga dikhawatirkan krisis listrik di Kalsel akan semakin lama.

Kondisi tersebut berbeda dengan rencana pembangunan PLTU Pulang Pisau, yang saat ini sudah ada penunjukan perusahaan yang memenangkan tender.

Pembangunan PLTU Pulang Pisau yang mulai dilakukan pada Februari ini bakal dilakukan oleh perusahaan konsorsium Cina dengan dana Rp1,1 triliun.

"Pengajuan tender antara PLTU ASam-Asam dan Pulang Pisau sebenarnya bersamaan, namun karena tender PLTU ASam-Asam sempat gagal, akhirnya pembangunannya duluan PLTU Pulang Pisau, yang selama proses tender tidak mendapatkan masalah," katanya.

Dwi mengaku tidak mengetahui secara pasti, penyebab kurangnya investor yang tertarik membangun PLTU Asam-Asam dibanding dengan PLTU Pulang Pisau, karena secara tehnik dan persyaratan lainnya tidak ada masalah.(*)

Wrong Room

2008-01-06T00:19:00.001+07:00

Joke of the Day January 5, 2008

"Doctor," she said loudly, bouncing into the room, "I want you to say frankly what's wrong with me."
He surveyed her from head to foot. "Madam," he said at length, "I've just three things to tell you."
"First, your weight wants reducing by nearly fifty pounds."
"Second, your beauty would be improved if you used about one tenth as much rouge and lipstick."
"And third, I'm an artist - the doctor lives on the next floor."

Pacific Gas and Electric Company Crews Work to Restore Power After Strong Storm Hits Northern and Central California PG&E Customers Should Call 1-800-PGE-5002 to Report Outages and Get Information

2008-01-05T18:42:00.001+07:00

Release Date: January 4, 2008
Contact: PG&E News Department (415) 973-5930

SAN FRANCISCO – Amid wind gusts over 70 miles per hour, Pacific Gas and Electric Company crews have been working since early Friday morning to restore power and repair damage caused by a strong Pacific storm – the first in a series forecast to hit California throughout the weekend. The storm has caused more than 1,300,000, or about 20 percent, of the utility's electric customers to lose power since Friday morning with damages to roughly 40 miles of power lines and 105 poles. The hardest hit areas have been the coastal regions, including the North Coast, Humboldt County, Marin County, Peninsula and Santa Cruz mountains, and the Sierra Nevada region.

"Our crews are working to restore power to our customers as quickly and as safely as possible," said Mark Johnson, vice president of electric operations and engineering at Pacific Gas and Electric Company. "However, while we are making restoration progress, we continue to face challenges. The widespread impact of the storm across our service territory combined with high winds have, in certain cases, created unsafe working conditions and are limiting PG&E crew access to damaged equipment. Coupled with the additional forecast storms, this could result in new outages or extending existing outages."

PG&E crews will continue power restoration efforts throughout the day and night. As of 4:00 p.m. today, power to approximately 395,851 customers has been restored. To further increase this effort, PG&E has contracted additional crews from outside our service area.

Below are tips for customers weathering the current winter storm:

Treat all downed power lines as if they are "live" or carrying electric current. Do not touch or try to move it – and keep children and animals away. Report downed power lines and other electric emergencies immediately by calling 911 and PG&E's customer service line at 1-800-PGE-5002.
If your power goes out, turn off or even unplug all electric appliances. Otherwise, when power is restored, several appliances may come back on at once and overload your circuits or hot appliances may come on while you're away or asleep and pose a fire hazard. Leave a single lamp on to alert you when power returns. Turn your appliances back on one at a time when conditions return to normal.
Customers should report power outages to PG&E by calling our outage information line at 1-800-PGE-5002. Customers can also call this number to receive updated information about an existing power outage in their area.

Direktur Pembangkitan PLN Diberhentikan

2008-01-05T18:30:00.001+07:00

05/01/08 11:55

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Rapat Dewan Komisaris PT PLN (Persero)
memberhentikan Ali Herman Ibrahim sebagai Direktur Pembangkitan dan Energi Primer PLN karena dianggap lalai menangani manajemen stok batubara PLTU Tanjung Jati B yang berlokasi di Jepara, Jateng.

Komisaris Utama PLN, Al Hilal Hamdi di Jakarta, Sabtu mengatakan, keputusan tersebut diambil dalam rapat Dewan Komisaris secara lengkap pada Jumat (4/1) malam.

"Pada Jumat (4/1) malam, Dewan Komisaris lengkap memutuskan untuk memberhentikan Ali Herman Ibrahim sebagai Direktur Pembangkitan dan Energi Primer PLN akibat kelalaian dalam menangani manajemen stok batubara PLTU Tanjung Jati B," katanya.

Akibat kelalaian itu, satu unit PLTU Tanjung Jati B yang berkapasitas 660 MW berhenti operasi dan satu unit lainnya tidak beroperasi penuh.

Parahnya lagi, buruknya manajemen stok tersebut bukan pertama kalinya terjadi.

"Kejadian ini merupakan ulangan peristiwa yang sama sebelumnya," kata Al Hilal.

Sebelumnya, Ali Herman Ibrahim menjelaskan, tersendatnya pasokan batubara ke PLTU Tanjung Jati B berkapasitas 2x660 MW dikarenakan cuaca buruk sehingga kapal yang membawa batubara tidak dapat merapat.

Pada 27 Desember 2007, stok batubara PLTU Tanjung Jati B hanya tersisa 50.000 ton. Dengan kebutuhan batubara mencapai 11.000 ton per hari, maka stok yang ada hanya tertinggal sekitar 4-5l hari.

Karenannya, PLN memutuskan mengentikan satu unit PLTU Tanjung Jati B dan unit lainnya tidak beroperasi penuh.
(*)

Menneg BUMN Instruksikan Dewan Komisaris PT PLN Tindak Direksi

2008-01-05T18:29:00.001+07:00

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Menteri Negara Badan Usaha Milik Negara (BUMN), Sofyan A. Djalil, menginstruksikan Dewan Komisaris PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN), agar mengambil tindakan terhadap direksi yang paling bertanggung jawab terhadap kelangkaan batubara di sejumlah tempat, termasuk di pembangkit listrik Tanjung Jati B dan Cilacap.

"Kalau ada yang bersalah secara sah kita akan berhentikan," katanya di Jakarta, Jumat.

Ia mengatakan, pihaknya secara tegas menginstruksikan dewan komisaris PLN, agar melakukan pertemuan terkait persoalan itu.

"Sore ini mereka rapat komisaris dan dari situ akan diketahui siapa direktur yang paling bertanggung jawab," katanya.

Direktur yang kemudian diketahui paling bertanggungjawab terhadap kelangkaan batubara di sejumlah pembangkit listrik akan diberhentikan sementara sesuai prosedur yang berlaku.

Ia mengatakan, pemberhentian sementara terhadap direktur akan diberlakukan selama 30 hari, dan setelahnya direktur yang bersangkutan diberi kesempatan untuk melakukan pembelaan diri.

"Kita akan berhentikan sementara dulu selama 30 hari, seperti kasus Angkasa Pura II dan Perum Perhutani," katanya.

Menurut dia, direktur dan pejabat yang paling bertanggung jawab atas kelalaian itu tidak memiliki manajemen pengelolaan batubara yang baik, sehingga harus dilakukan upaya pendisiplinan.

Akibat permasalahan itu negara terpaksa menanggung kerugian hingga triliunan rupiah.

"Masa bertahun-tahun mengelola listrik sudah tahu kalau akhir tahun cuaca buruk tetap tidak bisa mengantisipasi ketiadaan batubara. Bagaimana manajemennya itu," katanya.

Sofyan menegaskan, paling sedikit seorang direktur yang akan diberhentikan bila terbukti secara sah bertanggung jawab terhadap persoalan tersebut. (*)

Time Table

2008-01-03T19:28:00.001+07:00

	9-10	10-11	11-12	12-1	1-2	2-3	3-4	4-5	5-6
MONDAY	Listening to lectures and talks ALL MM	IELTS Reading ALL MM	SA1053 – Decision Support Systems lecture James, Akiman, Evan Room 3030		Language improvement ALL MM
TUESDAY	Pre-MPhil Seminar preparation CR MT1024 – Managing across cultures lecture Svetlana Room 3011	English for IT AO James, Akiman, Evan Pre-M Phil Writing workshop (proposal) CR	English for IT AO James, Akiman, Evan Pre-MPhil Writing workshop (proposal) CR			Extended Writing [Winner, Alfrida, Risking, Evan, Akim, James, Svetlana, Liling] JH	Extended Writing [Winner, Alfrida, Risking, Evan, Akim, James, Svetlana, Liling] JH
WEDNES- DAY	Pre-MPhil seminar – S Ozveren/ D King	Pre-MPhil seminar – S Ozveren/ D King	Study skills – non-MPhil AO Weeks 17-22 Pre-MPhil – Library level 3 Seminar room A		IELTS Writing JH ALL	IELTS Writing JH ALL	SA1053 – Decision Support Systems practical James, Akiman, Evan Room 4534	SA1053 – Decision Support Systems practical James, Akiman, Evan Room 4534
THURS- DAY	English for Business Svetlana Wafa Liling AO	English for Business Svetlana Wafa Liling AO	Discussion AO ALL		Extensive Reading JH ALL	Extensive Reading JH ALL
FRIDAY	IELTS Listening JH ALL	IELTS Speaking JH ALL	Vocabulary AO ALL		MT1024 – Managing across cultures tutorial Svetlana Room 4004

Tsunami In Memory

2007-12-31T07:28:00.001+07:00

In tsunami-affected countries, governments and individuals stay focused on the future

An unprecedented $13.6 billion in aid has boosted rebuilding, but political and economic challenges remain three years later.

Courtesy Simon Montlake, The Christian Science Monitor

Bangkok, Thailand–Three years ago, a towering wave swept aside the flimsy home of A. Muttama in Nagapattinam, India, and stole away her three children. Together with her husband, Selvaraj, a fisherman, she turned her back on the sea. After two years in shelter, they moved to Madras, where he found work as a rickshaw driver.

The memory of that day still brings tears to Ms. Muttama's eyes, but the horror of the past is yielding to thoughts of a better tomorrow. "The wounds were deep, but life doesn't stop for anyone," she says.

Across the Indian Ocean, where a Dec. 26, 2004, tsunami scoured coastal communities and displaced 2 million people in 12 countries, an unprecedented aid effort has repaired much of the physical damage. The world dug deep into its pockets and pledged $13.6 billion for the survivors of a disaster that claimed 230,000 lives. That money has fed, housed, and employed the afflicted, while governments and humanitarian agencies focused on rebuilding schools, houses, and hospitals and restoring shattered ports and waterlogged farms.

Some countries have moved forward: Resorts in Thailand are packed this season with foreign tourists seeking winter sunshine. Several low-key ceremonies to remember the dead will be held there today. In the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, where Muttama lives, more than 1,800 self-help groups have sprung up to grant small loans to survivors and give them better access to jobs, education, and healthcare, in some cases for the first time among underprivileged groups.

Other nations have grappled with tensions that predated the tsunami and became woven into the recovery effort. Insurgents in Aceh, the Indonesian province at the tip of Sumatra Island, signed a landmark peace deal and were elected to office. Sri Lanka saw its olive branch wither as fighting with ethnic-Tamil rebels escalated, hampering reconstruction projects.

For survivors, it's been a long road. But massive aid has mostly reached its target, defying skeptics who foresaw roadblocks to delivering services to marginalized communities in graft-ridden developing nations.

The next major challenge, say aid workers and government officials, is to avoid a hard landing as the reconstruction winds down. The fear is that economies fueled by aid dollars will deflate after international agencies pack up. Indonesian officials have warned of mass layoffs in Aceh in 2009 when BRR, the donor-funded national reconstruction agency, is due to close. A government survey found that at least 40,000 may be left jobless by the drawdown in foreign aid.

"A lot has been rebuilt, but what will happen when all the money has gone?" asks Yusuf Irwan, a self-employed mechanic in Banda Aceh, the provincial capital and aid hub.

Another challenge is preparing coastal communities for possible future natural disasters. A UN-led multidonor effort has begun to install tsunami warning systems in the Indian Ocean, similar to those used in the Pacific Ocean. These include undersea sensors and buoys linked to national centers that can issue warnings and share data with other countries.

Had a warning system existed in 2004, authorities would have had time to evacuate coastal areas. Today, countries are better prepared to cope with a tsunami, says Orestes Anastasia, a project manager for USAID, which supports the UN initiative.

That was borne out by a deadly Sept. 24 earthquake in West Sumatra that damaged thousands of homes and triggered a small tsunami. Indonesian authorities issued a tsunami warning within five minutes of the 8.4-magnitude quake, allowing coastal villages to respond ahead of the waves.

To avoid a post-aid bump, planners in Aceh are looking to investors to help revive a private economy that was based on agriculture, fishing, and revenues from a depleted gas field operated by ExxonMobil. But investors are waiting for signs that a landmark 2005 peace deal with the armed Free Aceh Movement, or GAM, that has devolved power to the province, won't sour.

The deal ended three decades of fighting and led to the demobilization of thousands of combatants and the election of a GAM member as provincial governor. Many Acehnese fear a return to conflict as GAM fighters turn to petty extortion and factions battle over the spoils of peace, warns the International Crisis Group, a Brussels-based think tank.

That view is shared by Iqbal, a farmer and drugstore owner who spent two years living in a refugee camp. "Nothing's changed," he complains. "Rebels still ask for money."

Yet such gloom overlooks the sense of renewal in Aceh, says Damien Kingsbury, an associate professor at Deakin University in Melbourne, Australia, and an adviser to GAM on peace negotiations. Acehnese are finally exercising political freedoms in a post-tsunami atmosphere of opportunity, despite hardships. "The people of Aceh appear to feel as though they have recaptured some of their pride. They have survived a devastating tsunami and a horrible and destructive war and have come out on top," he says.

A sense of renewal is also palpable in Tamil Nadu, though the pace of rebuilding is slow and dogged by controversy over where survivors should live. Of the 53,323 houses due to be built during the first phase, only 29,446 have been completed, and thousands of families are stuck in temporary relief camps.

Much of the new stock is going up away from the coast where survivors made their living. State authorities have designated a half-mile exclusion zone from the sea on grounds of safety. Some aid agencies call this a ploy to grab beachfront land for resorts and hotels.

"Removing people from their original habitation will negatively impact livelihoods of people," says Babu Matthew, director of Action Aid India. "The safety of people can be assured through better early-warning systems and other disaster risk-reduction measures."

Other countries have backed off similar proposals. In Thailand, that spurred hoteliers to rebuild resorts. The province of Phang-Nga, where foreign vacationers were among more than 8,000 dead, expects tourist income to return to pre-2004 levels within three years.

In Aceh, 100,000-plus homes have been built, along with 1,240 miles of road, 800 schools, and 600 hospitals and clinics, according to the agency BRR. But some 3,000 families still live in shelters around Banda Aceh, and some international agencies have drawn flack for building substandard houses. In areas, homes stand empty as recipients have gone elsewhere, a symbol of wasted resources.

In Sri Lanka, a government reconstruction agency has wound down operations, falling short of a target of more than 100,000 new homes. Rising military spending on the civil war is inflating prices for cement and other materials. A local newspaper reported Sunday that only $1.7 billion of $3.1 billion pledged by foreign donors had been dispersed.

Tom McCawley in Jakarta, Indonesia, and Anuj Chopra in Madras, India, contributed.

Dua Menara PLN di Depok Roboh

2007-12-31T07:08:00.001+07:00

31/12/2007 06:34 PLN
Liputan6.com, Depok: Dua menara saluran udara tegangan ekstra tinggi (Sutet) milik PLN roboh dan menimpa sedikitnya lima rumah warga di Kelurahan Pangkalan Jati Baru, Limo, Depok, Jawa Barat, Ahad (30/12). Warga menduga robohnya dua menara SUTET tersebut akibat proses pengerjaan yang kurang baik.

Meski tidak menimbulkan korban jiwa, warga yang tinggal di sekitar lokasi mengaku cemas karena khawatir insiden serupa terulang. Perusahaan setrum nasional setempat memang sudah memutus aliran listrik, namun sayangnya hingga Ahad sore belum terlihat petugas PLN memperbaiki kerusakan yang terjadi.(JUM/Nahyudi)

Partial-Discharge Investigation Tool

2007-12-31T06:42:00.001+07:00

Dec 27, 2007 5:30 PM

EA Technology's UltraTEV Plus+ combines all the functionality of the UltraTEV Detector with many new features for investigating and understanding partial-discharge (PD) activity in medium-voltage and high-voltage switchgear in greater detail.

Like the Detector, the UltraTEV Plus+ measures PD activity in the form of ultrasonic and transient earth-voltage (TEV) signals, but provides operators with considerably more comprehensive information about emission levels. Ultrasonic emissions are displayed as decibel readings as well as being converted into audible signals, which can be heard through the headphones supplied. TEV signals appear on the menu-driven color LCD screen as numerical values, as a bar graph and as a green-amber-red indication.

An optional plug-in microphone is available to investigate PD activity in hard-to-reach areas, as well as an optional UltraDish parabolic waveform concentrator to listen to activity in overhead assets and at a distance. The ability of the UltraTEV Plus+ to display the number of PD pulses per cycle, severity and maximum levels for internal discharges, in addition to displaying ultrasonic emissions numerically for surface discharges, provides information that is vital for deciding on a course of action. 
EA Technology