Indonesia issues decree for factories to work weekends

JAKARTA, July 14 (Reuters) - Indonesia issued a joint ministerial decree on Monday which will force manufacturers to shift production to weekends once a month in a bid to stave off an electricity crisis, the industry minister said.

Southeast Asia's largest economy suffers from power shortages as demand has steadily risen while there has been little new investment in power-related infrastructure.

Disruptions in fuel shipments have led to blackouts in Java and Bali, the two main commercial islands, in recent months.

The ministers for energy, industry, labour, state enterprises and home affairs have signed the regulation under which factories in Java and Bali would have to shift their operating hours to weekends, when there is 3,000 MW of idle electricity power compared to the heavy load on weekdays.

"We are regulating electricity savings especially for industries by shifting working hours from workdays to Saturday and Sunday," Industry Minister Fahmi Idris told a news conference.

He added that factories would only work weekends once a month.

The new rules will come into effect on July 21 and are expected to last until December 2009, when supply from some of the 10,000 MW of new power plants currently under construction are due to start.

"If this regulation goes as planned, we believe there will not be any more blackouts," Vice President Jusuf Kalla said.

Frequent power cuts and unpredictable electricity supplies are a deterrent to new investment and could lead to some existing manufacturers pulling out of the country.