Govt cuts electricity tariff for certain consumer groups

JAKARTA (RambuEnergy.com) – Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (MEMR) has decided to slash electricity tariff for seven non-subsidized consumer groups for October-December 2020 period amid lower economic indicators.

Minister of EMR Arifin Tasrif has sent an instruction letter to the state-owned electricity company PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) on Aug. 31, 2020.

Spokesperson of the energy ministry Agung Pribadi said for low-voltage consumer groups, the electricity tariff is set at Rp1,444.70 per kWh, or cut by Rp22.5 per kWh. For medium-voltage and high-voltage household subscribers, the electricity tariff remains the same for July-September 2020 period.

As for household consumer groups with 900 VA-RTM, the tariff remains the same at Rp1,352 per kWh, Agung said.

Given this tariff adjustment, the electricity tariff for households with 1,300 VA, 2,200 VA, 3,500-5,500 VA, above 6,600 VA, business consumers with 6,6000 kVa, will gain benefit from lower electricity tariff by Rp22.58/kWh to Rp1,444.70/kWh.

The tariff adjustment was in line with the EMR Ministerial Decree Number 28, 2016 on Electricity Tariff provided by PLN, which was amended by the EMR Ministerial Decree Number 3 of 2020. The electricity tariff was adjusted following the changes in a number of economic indicators over the past three months, namely the rupiah exchange rate to USD, Indonesian Crude Price (ICP), inflation, and coal reference price.

The energy ministry said the economic indicators have changed in the period of May-July, 2020. The average rupiah exchange rate stood at Rp14,561.52 against USD, the average ICP stood at US$34.33/barrel, the inflation rate stood at 0.05 percent, while coal reference price stood at Rp666.72/kg.

Given these lower economic indicators, the electricity tariff for low-voltage non-subsidized consumers is slashed, the energy ministry added. (*)