Jakarta (Antara Bali) - State-owned electricity company PLN confirmed
that its verification of the firms subsidized household customers
revealed that some 18 million of them were actually able to pay the
normal power tariff.
Hence, the government is planning to drop the subsidy for some 18
million household customers, probably starting next month in June or
July.
According to Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Sudirman Said,
the abolishment of the electricity subsidy now awaits the decision of
President Joko Widodo (Jokowi).
"We have conducted verifications based on a limited cabinet
meeting, which discussed the electricity issues. We have filed a report,
and now, we are waiting for the presidents decision," Sudirman stated
at the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministrys office on April 4.
The minister pointed out that there were 22 million subsidized
household subscribers. However, some 18 million of them were no longer
entitled to receive subsidy as they had sufficient purchasing power to
pay the normal tariff.
The data was obtained from PLN and the National Team for the
Acceleration of Poverty Elimination (TNP2K) that had been reported to
the energy and mineral resources ministry. Based on the report, only
some 4.1 million out of 22 million customers were eligible to receive
the electricity subsidy.
However, the minister said he could not as yet ascertain when the
power subsidy would be eliminated. Earlier, rumors were circulating that
the subsidy for the 900-volt ampere subscriber group would be scrapped
by July 2016.
"The elimination of the subsidy will depend on the situation. It can be done soon or even be put off," remarked Sudirman.
Based on verifications, several relatively financially able
consumers in numerous regions in Indonesia are still receiving
electricity subsidy.
The TNP2K remarked that the subsidy may be dropped for some 107,550
customers in Aceh Province as they were not categorized as poor
families.
The same trend was also observed in East Java where some 497
thousand subscribers enjoyed subsidized electricity when they were, in
fact, not entitled to the aid.
The government has planned to cut its electricity subsidy to Rp38
trillion this year from Rp66 trillion last year, assuming that it
stopped offering electricity at subsidized rates to households in
January. Sudirman did not reveal how much the government stood to save
now when the subsidy would only be phased out in June, according to the
Jakarta Globe.
However, the Indonesian Consumers Foundation (YLKI) said that
government needs to inform the public about its plan to abolish the
electricity subsidy for household customers with sufficient income to
purchase electricity at the normal rate.
The government should also ensure the validity of data on the
number of consumers eligible to receive electricity subsidy, Chairman
of the YLKI for East Nusa Tenggara Marthen Mullik stated in East Nusa
Tenggara Wednesday (May 4) said.
Besides popularizing the plan, the government and state-owned
electricity company PLN should also conduct a re-verification to ensure
the validity of the data, he noted.
PLNs provisional data indicated that some 18 million household
subscribers of subsidized electricity were no longer entitled to the
aid. They are part of 22 million customers who have so far received the
subsidy.
As part of its verification process, PLN had visited 4.1 million
target households and found that 3.4 million of them were no longer
entitled to receive the subsidy facility. In future, PLN will not
conduct any further verification but instead directly drop the subsidy
for the outlined households.
Consumers having any objections to the abolishment of the subsidy
can file a complaint with the nearest government apparatuses, such as
the rural or village head offices.
The complaints will be sent via Internet or storage devices to the sub-district offices to be added to the PLN database.
"Efforts to draw support for the plan must be made to inform the
people, and this should be followed up by another verification to ensure
the validity of data on household subscribers who are either eligible
or ineligible to receive the power subsidy," he pointed out.
The verification must be conducted independently to facilitate the
creation of an accurate database, which will help to prevent any
problems in future.
In the meantime, PLN has raised non-subsidized electricity tariffs
for 12 groups of subscribers by Rp7-10 per kWh in May 2016. The
electricity tariff hike is particularly the result of a rise in
Indonesian crude price, chief of PLN commercial division Benny Marbun
said here on Sunday.
"In addition, the inflation rate also increased. However, the
rupiahs strengthening against the US dollar has held electricity tariff
hike," he said.
ICP in March which serves as one of the references to set
electricity tariffs in May stood at US$34.19 per barrel, up by US$5.27
per barrel from US$28.92 per barrel in February, he said.
The inflation rate also rose 0.28 percent to 0.19 percent in March from -0.09 in February, he said.
However, the rupiah strengthened Rp322 to Rp13,194 per dollar in
March from Rp13,889 per dollar in February, he added. Benny said
electricity tariffs in May for low voltage (TR) rose Rp10/kWh from
Rp1,343/kWh in April to Rp1,353/kWh in May.
The TR tariffs apply to seven groups of subscribers, namely
R1/1,300 VA, R1/2,200 VA, R2/3,500-5,500 VA, R3/6,600 VA and above,
B2/6,600-200 kVA, P1/6.600-200 kVA, and P3.
Electricity tariffs for medium voltage (TM) rose Rp8/kWh from Rp1,033/kWh in April to Rp1,041/kWh in May.
The TM tariffs apply to three groups of subcribers, namely B3/>200 kVA, I3/>200 kVA, and P2/>200 kVA.
Electricity tariffs for high voltage (TT) increased Rp7/kWh from
Rp925/kWh in April to Rp932/kWh in May. TT tariffs apply to a group of
subscribers, namely I-4/30 MVA and above. (WDY)
Indonesian Govt to Lift Subsidy for 18 Million Electricity Subscribers
Kamis, 5 Mei 2016 20:03 WIB