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State-owned electricity company PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara said on Friday that it was still seeking more fuel for its gas-powered plants next year. PLN’s supply contracts for next year currently fall short of requirements by 30 percent, it said.

According to PLN data, it will need 2,233 billion British thermal units per day, with only 1,572 bbtud, or 70.4 percent of that, currently secured. The requirement will increase to 2,474 bbutd in 2013 with only 69.1 percent locked up.

“PLN is eager to find gas supplies in an attempt to convert oil and diesel-fueled power plants into gas-fueled power plants,” PLN president director Fahmi Mochtar said on Friday.

“In the first half this year alone we saved Rp 9.7 trillion [$1.03 billion] by doing that,” he said, adding that savings were estimated to reach Rp 13.4 trillion by the end of the year.

PLN expects to book earnings of Rp 7 trillion in 2009 through higher revenue and increased savings through switching its power plants to gas and coal, Fahmi said.

PLN has been reducing the amount of oil and diesel it uses for electricity generation, replacing it with coal and gas, which are not subsidized by the government.

PLN’s usage of oil and diesel peaked last year at 11.3 million kiloliters, then dropped significantly this year to 8.8 million kiloliters. It is estimated to continue dropping to 6.6 million kiloliters in 2010 and 4.3 million kiloliters in 2011.

But the switch is increasing PLN’s consumption of coal. It will use 22.8 million tons of coal this year, up from 21 million tons in 2008. The company estimated it would need 29.6 million tons of coal in 2010 and 40.7 million tons in 2011.

Coordinating Minister for the Economy Hatta Rajasa said there was a shortage of gas to meet domestic demand as producers have already locked in long-term contracts to export the fuel.

“We are still struggling to meet PLN’s demand. But in the future we will prioritize domestic demand,” Hatta said.

In April, PLN formed a consortium with fellow state firms PT Pertamina and PT Perusahaan Gas Negara (PGN) to build three large, off-shore liquefied natural gas storage terminals near Jakarta, East Java and Sumatra.

Hatta said he would encourage the consortium to get on with its work. “We’ll build receiving terminals to convert LNG back into gas. PLN will get the most of the gas for its power plants to further reduce its production costs,” he said. “They are all SOEs. They should reach a deal.”

Pertamina will build the two terminals off the shore of Java while PGN will build the one near Sumatra. The companies expect to finish by 2011.

Fahmi said PLN was ready to buy gas converted from LNG from the offshore terminals. “This is mainly for large power plants that can no longer be supplied through pipelines,” he said.