Dependency to Import Fuel is Very Dangerous, President Jokowi Says

President Jokowi gives directives in a Plenary Meeting of National Energy Council at the Presidential Office, Jakarta, Thursday (5/1) afternoon. (Photo: JAY/Public Relations Office)

President Joko ‘Jokowi’ Widodo reminded that the availability of national energy is the key to alleviate poverty as well as the key in reducing the gap. The President mentioned that national production of fuel can only meet 50 percent of the need, while another 50 percent depends on import.“In my view, in the future, it is dangerous if this condition does not change. We must do research and make breakthroughs to build our energy security, particulary because our CPO production is quite small,” the President said when giving directives in a Plenary Meeting of National Energy Council, at the Presidential Office, Jakarta, on Thursday (5/1) afternoon.

In the meantime, Indonesia has quite big biomass and coal as well as its derivatives. With a good research, either CPO, biomass, or coal, we can make breakthroughs and would not always depend on fuel oil.“For example, the finding of shale gas in the United States. I want this kind of breakthrough. Indonesia has 13-14 million hectares of palm forests. It gives us opportunity to produce CPO so that our country does not depend on other countries anymore,” President Jokowi said.

Therefore, according to the President, it needs a careful calculation so that we have medium as well as long term plans to solve the problem of fuel shortage. “We haven’t done it seriously.”

Need

Relating with the 35,000 MW electricity program, President Jokowi explained that it is not only a target. It is a need. However, there is a mismacth between the calculation and the reality so it needs to be calculated once again.“It does not matter if there is an excess as long as it is not too much because it will make the cost of money too high,” the President stated.

The President admitted that Indonesia’s electricity consumption per capita is still quite low compared to other Asian countries. It was only 917 Kwh in 2015, while in Vietnam it was 1,795 Kwh, even in Singapore it was 9,146 Kwh.

Nevertheless, if we want to grow faster, according to the President, the Government must carry out the development throughout the country  so electricity consumption will increase more.

Thus, President Jokowi, who was accompanied by Vice President Jusuf Kalla, asked the National Energy Council to give solutions for those two issues.

The Plenary Meeting was also attended by Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs Wiranto, Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Luhut B. Pandjaitan, Minister of State Secretary Pratikno, Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung, Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Ignasius Jonan, Minister of Environment and Forestry Siti Nurbaya, Minister of Transportation Budi K. Sumadi, Minister of Industry Airlangga Hartarto, and the members of National Energy Council. (DNA/SM/FID/EN/JAY/ES)(MMB/YM/Naster)