New and Renewable Energy Development Must be Accelerated, President Jokowi Says

President Jokowi leads a meeting on the General Planning of National Energy at the Presidential Office on Wednesday (22/6)

President Joko ‘Jokowi’ Widodo said that the low price of global oil gives Indonesia two opportunities: to improve the management of Indonesia’s energy sector and reform Indonesia’s energy sector from the upstream to the downstream and to build energy sovereignty and security to strengthen energy reserves.

The President made the statement in his remarks at the Plenary Meeting of the National Energy Council at the Presidential Office on Wednesday (22/6) that discussed the General Planning of the National Energy.

According to President Jokowi, Indonesia must not delay the development of new and renewable energy program and the program must be accelerated five times in 2025 so that development of new and renewable energy can reach 23%.

“We must eliminate ‘sectoral’ ego and developing new and renewable energy is our joint commitment, our national commitment. The General Planning of the National Energy must also aggressively boost the development of clean energy and energy conservation,” the President affirmed.

Regarding the General Planning of the National Energy, President Jokowi said that this planning is the direction and road map of energy development until 2050.

He went on to say that the national development planning on the energy sector must be made more comprehensively.

It must also have a long term vision and must become a guideline for the Central Government, regional governments, state-owned enterprises, and stakeholders in creating synergy to carry out commitment to develop national energy in the future, the President said.

“I hope that the General Planning of the National Energy can answer current energy problems and can anticipate the dynamics of global energy,” the President concluded.

Also attending the meeting were Vice President Jusuf Kalla, Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs Luhut B. Pandjaitan, Coordinating Minister for the Economy Darmin Nasution, Minister of State Secretary Pratikno, Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung, Presidential Chief of Staff Teten Masduki, Minister of Finance Bambang Brodjonegoro, Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Sudirman Said, Minister of National Development Planning/Head of the National Development Planning Agency Sofyan Djalil, Minister of Transportation Ignasius Jonan, and Minister of  Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Susi Pudjiastuti. (FID/DNA/ES) (EP/YM/Naster)