Govt gets green light to raise fuel quota

The House of Representatives agreed Wednesday to raise the quota on subsidized fuel consumption in the 2010 state budget revision, signaling a possibility for the government to postpone plans to curb consumption.

Director general for oil and gas Evita Herawati Legowo told reporters after a hearing with legislators that the quota would be raised from 36.5 million kiloliters to 39 million kiloliters.

“The quota volume can be increased as long as the cost of the subsidy expense remains the same,” Evita said. The state budget law allocates Rp 89.29 trillion for fuel subsidy in 2010.

Earlier, the government planned to control the subsidized fuel distribution instead of increasing the quota.