Ministry: No Electricity Tariff Hike in April-June 2021
(Photo by: Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources)
Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, on behalf of the Government, has decided that there will be no electricity tariff hike for 13 non-subsidized customer groups from 1 April to 30 June 2021.
The Ministry’s Electricity Director Rida Mulyana, on Monday (8/3), said that the Ministry will continue to encourage the State-owned Electricity Company PT PLN to take necessary measures to maintain efficiency, increase electricity sales, and ensure electricity supply.
Based on Regulation of Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Number 28 of 2016 on Tariff of Electricity Supplied by PT PLN as lastly amended by Regulation of Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Number 3 of 2020, electricity tariff will be adjusted by taking into account four macroeconomic indicators (exchange rate, Indonesian Crude Price (ICP), inflation rate, and Coal Benchmark Price) which are assessed on a quarterly basis. To set electricity price for the second quarter, it is based on realization in November 2020 to January 2021.
Macroeconomic indicators for the period of November 2020 to January 2021 have changed; the Rupiah exchange rate stood at Rp14,157.27 per US$, the ICP reached US$47.21 per barrel, the inflation rate was at 0.33 percent, and Coal Benchmark Price stood at Rp762.84/kg. Nevertheless, the Government has decided that there will be no adjustment in the electricity tariff.
“Thus, electricity tariff for non-subsidized customer groups be it low voltage customers, medium voltage customers, and high voltage customers will remain the same as the previous period of January-March 2021,” Rida said.
Electricity tariff of Rp1,444.70/kWh applies to non-subsidized customers using low voltage energy, such as households in the 1,300-VA, 2,200-VA, 3,500 and 5,500-VA categories, businesses in the 6.600 – 200 kVA category, government offices in the 6.600 – 200 kVA category, and electricity for street lights. Meanwhile, electricity tariff for 900 VA-RTM category will remain at Rp1,352/kWh.
Tariff for medium voltage customers including business, industries, government offices using more than 200 kVA, and special service will be at Rp1,114.74/kWh. On the other hand, tariff for high voltage customers including industries using 30,000 kVA or more will be at Rp996.74/kWh.
In addition, electricity tariff for 25 subsidized customer groups including Micro, Small, and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs), and small industries will also remain the same. During COVID-19 pandemic, the Government has also provided social security program through electricity tariff discount for households in the 450 VA and 900 VA categories, and small businesses and industries in the 450-VA category.
In the future, electricity tariff could change based on the dynamic of ICP, exchange rate, inflation rate, and Coal Benchmark Price. However, Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources expects the PLN to improve operational efficiency in order to lower electricity generation cost or maintain the cost remain the same as the previous period. The success in maintaining electricity tariff will support people’s purchasing power and national economic recovery. (MINISTRY OF ENERGY AND MINERAL RESOURCES PR/EN) (RAS/MMB)
