The President Post Special Report 01

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SPECIAL REPORT / AUGUST 2014

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Luluk Sumiarso: Restoration of Energy Management The government should regulate energy management in order to achieve self-sufficiency in which energy needs can be met from domestic sources. If to this day we still import the energy, it means we have to do a restoration in energy management.

In accordance with the mandate of Article 33 UUD 1945 paragraphs 2 and 3, the state should utilize natural resources for the prosperity of society. Regarding the energy, the government must manage the available energy sources for the common welfare. "That is why the government should regulate the energy management," said Luluk Sumiarso, former Director General of Oil and Gas, Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources (EMR) for 2006-2008 period. According to Luluk, currently Chairman of the International Institute for Clean Energy and Climate Change (IICECC) Indonesia, Indonesia has abundant energy sources. The potential of hydro power could reach 76,000 Mega Watts (MW), while the potential of geothermal is about 79,000 MW. "Indonesia is a geothermal superpower," said the man who was born in Ponorogo, on 11 May 1951. Unfortunately, Indonesia focuses on fossil fuels as an energy source. In fact, the production and reserves of fossil fuels is steadily declining. Meanwhile, the renewable energy sources have not been worked on well. Lulu explained that subsidy of fuel oils (BBM) has been misguided. The subsidy should only be given to needy people. But in reality, the fuel subsidy now more widely enjoyed by the middle class who have their private vehicles. "The fuel subsidy is misplaced. The subsidy has to be for the poor," said the alumnus of Institute of Technology Bandung (ITB), Bandung. According to Luluk, there is no way to guide the subsidy so that it only reaches the targeted receivers. When he was serving as Director General of Electricity and Energy Utilization (LPE) 2001-2003 at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, he ever applied electricity subsidy for disadvantaged groups. "The subsidy is only given to the users of 450 VA electricity meter," said the boss of Javanese traditional performance ‘Ketoprak Puspo Budoyo’. Supported By:

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They are entitled to the subsidy as the targeted customers, such as those who run social activities (S1 and S2), household (R1), small business (B1) and industry (I1) with installed capacity of 450 VA for electricity consumption up to 60 kwh per month. By such an exact limitation, the government can reduce the electricity subsidy. "In 2003, the electricity subsidy was only Rp3.5 trillion. Compared to 2006 which reached Rp31.246 trillion," said Luluk, alumni of the University of Pennsylvania, USA, Department of Energy Management and Policy. As it is known, the 2003 Luluk was no longer the Director General of LPE. He was promoted as a Secretary-General of Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry (2003-2006). When holding the position as Director General of Oil and Gas (2006-2008) at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Luluk once proposed a concept which allowed the reduction in subsidy of fuel prices, following the downward trend in world oil prices at that time. He called the concept automatic fuel price cut with the upper limit (HJ-OBA). "This concept follows the trend of the rising and falling oil prices. That means if the world oil prices fall, the government will lower the price of subsidized fuel," he said. The benchmark price for the domestic fuel refers to the MOPS (Mean of Plats Singapore).

When lowering the prices, the government made it clear to the public that the fuel prices will follow the MOPS. So, if the price of MOPS increased, automatically the fuel prices also rose. "However, if there was an increase which caused the MOPS benchmark prices above the retail prices, to protect the interests of the public the government set the upper limit of the selling price, ie the prices that correspond to the Presidential Decree No. 55 Year 2005," he said. The benchmark prices of subsidized fuels are the average prices of MOPS in one month before plus alpha (distribution and margins costs). Meantime the retail prices are set by the president regulation based on the calculation made by the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources in coordination with Minister for Economic Affairs. "The difference between the benchmark and retail prices would be subsidized by the government," he continued. Unfortunately, Luluk's proposal was foundered in the middle of the way. Now, the Chairman of the International Institute for Clean Energy and Climate Change proposes a new idea to reduce the fuel subsidy called subsidy rationalization. "What is the concept all about, I will explain later," said Luluk, closing the interview with The President Post in Jakarta, recently. (jok)

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