Indonesia: Work weekends to save energy

JAKARTA, Indonesia - Indonesian manufacturers are being told to move some of their production work to the weekends as part of a new energy-saving plan, the government announced Thursday, as the capital prepared for two weeks of blackouts because of power shortages.

The government decree aims to increase the amount of power available for commercial centers around Java island, where chronic outages have hurt production and led to protests by Japanese companies, which say they have lost millions of dollars.

Electricity consumption declines on weekends because most offices and other businesses are closed, said the secretary general of the Industry Ministry, Agus Tjahjana. The regulation, which goes into effect in October, will not affect industries that operate 24 hours a day, such as petrochemical companies, he said.

The measure will save energy because utility companies are less efficient at generating electricity at peak demand.

Manufacturers that do not comply could face temporary power cuts, Tjahjana said.

Parts of Indonesia, the world's fourth most populous country with 235 million people, regularly experience blackouts, usually because electricity demand outweighs supply.

There will be forced power cuts in the capital, Jakarta, and in the nearby industrial city of Tangerang over the next two weeks due to a disruption in gas supplies to two plants that provide electricity for the region.