Govt aims to cut fuel consumption

JAKARTA: The Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry has calculated that by banning government vehicles from using subsidized fuels, the country would save up to 135,000 kiloliters in fuel this year, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Jero Wacik says.

He also added that the prohibition of industrial vehicles, predominantly mining and plantation company vehicles, from purchasing subsidized fuels would also cut the consumption of fuel by 425,000 kiloliters.

“The oil fuel-to-gas conversion program will also further reduce subsidized fuel consumption in 2012 by 8,000 kiloliters,” he said in Jakarta on Wednesday.

As reported earlier, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono launched the government’s five-pronged approach to curb subsidized fuels and energy consumption.

The five policies include introducing information technology-based distribution control systems at every fuel station to record the daily consumption of each vehicle; entailing a ban on all vehicles owned by government institutions and mining and plantation company vehicles from buying subsidized fuels.

The fourth is accelerating the oil-to-gas conversion program in the transportation sector and the last, cutting power and water consumption at government offices.

“The ban on government cars will begin on June 1 in Greater Jakarta,” Jero said.