Seeing Erick Thohir's Professionalism In Appointing Hartanto As Director Of PLN

SOE Minister Erick Thohir (Source: Ministry of SOEs Documentation)

JAKARTA - Minister of State-Owned Enterprises (BUMN) Erick Thohir replaced PT PLN (Persero) Primary Energy Director Rudy Hendra Prastowo. He then appointed Hartanto Wibowo as the new Primary Energy Director of PT PLN.

Erick stated that Hartanto's appointment was not without reason. He considered Hartanto to be one of the most talented figures at PLN.

"I just signed a letter to replace the Director of Primary Energy at PLN with Hartanto Wibowo, who is a top talent at PLN," said Erick at the BUMN Ministry Office, Thursday, January 6.

Hartanto Wibowo previously served as Director of PLN Batu Bara, a subsidiary of PLN. The change in the composition of the board of directors was determined at the General Meeting of Shareholders (GMS) of PLN through a Decree of the Minister of State-Owned Enterprises (BUMN).

Furthermore, Erick advised Hartanto to be directly involved in overcoming the problem. He warned that something similar should not happen again in the future.

"So I also ask Hartanto that things we have experienced like this should not happen again," he added.

The reason, Erick said that Indonesia is rich in natural resources including coal and LNG. Thus, the stock of coal for domestic electricity does not experience a shortage.

"Many countries do not have natural resources and do not experience an energy crisis. So this means that there is something that we must fix together," explained Erick.

The removal of Rudy Hendra Prastowo from the position of director of PLN and the appointment of Hartanto Wibodo are related to the problem of the coal supply crisis that occurred at PLN. This condition makes millions of PLN electricity customers threatened with blackouts because 20 power plants do not get a supply of coal.