T

he removal of subsidized fuel from gas stations in Central Jakarta and along the Jakarta-Cikampek toll road has sparked an outcry from motorists, who maintain they will now be forced to refuel in other districts and municipalities of Greater Jakarta.

The move follows a decision by the Downstream Oil and Gas Regulatory Agency (BPH Migas) to stop selling subsidized Solar¤ and Premium in the two areas, as well as prohibiting gas stations in Java, Bali, Kalimantan and Sumatra from selling subsidized Solar between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. to stay within the national subsidized fuel quota of 46 million kiloliters (kL).

Rendy Fahmi, who wanted to fill up his Toyota Panther at the Pejompongan gas station in Central Jakarta on Friday, decided not to purchase non-subsidized fuel and instead left the gas station to find a gas station that was still selling subsidized Solar.

'€œThe price of the non-subsidized fuel was a shock. There was no prior notice, and the price is very high,'€ Rendy told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

Starting Aug. 1, Solar diesel now costs Rp 12,800 per liter at all gas stations in Central Jakarta, while motorists on the Jakarta-Cikampek toll road had to pay up to Rp 10,000 per liter for Pertamax.

Subsidized Premium usually costs Rp 5,500 per liter.

Another motorist, Suhardi, questioned the government'€™s policy, which he said would only prompt customers to fill their tanks at other gas stations outside Central Jakarta.

'€œNow, I have to find another gas station in West or South Jakarta. I don'€™t want to spend Rp 500,000 just on gas,'€ he said.

Meanwhile, Maryono, the supervisor at the Pejompongan gas station, said he had received many complaints about the new fuel distribution policy, which resulted in a sharp drop in Solar sales on Friday.

'€œPreviously, this gas station sold around 7,000 liters per day but at 3 p.m. today, we had only sold around 500 liters,'€ Maryono said on Friday.

BPH Migas head Andy Noorsaman Someng said the removal of the Solar diesel subsidy was just one of several measures being taken to rein in the nation'€™s fuel consumption to a maximum of 46 million kL this year.

'€œIf we do not take such measures, we fear our consumption will exceed the quota before the end of this year,'€ he said.

According to data from state-owned oil and gas firm PT Pertamina, the consumption of subsidized Solar had reached around 9 million kL by the end of July, or around 60 percent of the total quota of 15 million kL in subsidized diesel allocated to Pertamina according to the 2014 revised state-budget. Meanwhile, the consumption of subsidized Premium had reached around 17 million kL by July 31, or around 58 percent of Pertamina'€™s total subsidized gasoline quota of 29 million kL.

Jakarta Deputy Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama previously said that the Jakarta administration was considering lifting the fuel subsidy as one of several steps to help combat the daily traffic gridlock in the capital.

He said the additional funds could be used to improve public transportation options and so encourage the majority of people to leave their private vehicles at home.

Sutanto Suhodo, assistant to the Jakarta governor for industry, trade and transportation, said the new limits on the sale of subsidized fuel would be ineffective if they were only applied in Central Jakarta and along the toll road.

'€œThe central government must be firm in its decision. If the point is to only curb fuel consumption in particular areas, it will be ineffective,'€ Sutanto said.

He also said he doubted whether the limited removal of subsidized Solar and Premium would have the hoped-for impact in terms of reducing Jakarta traffic jams.

Pertamina'€™s vice president for corporate communications, Ali Mundakir, said on Friday that to support BPH Migas'€™ policy, Pertamina had enhanced its cooperation with the Association of Fuel Station Owners (Hiswana Migas) to disseminate information on the limited provision of subsidized fuel.

In addition, as subsidized fuel in gas stations affected by the new policy would be substituted by non-subsidized fuel, Pertamina would maintain its supply of Pertamax to the gas stations, he said.

'€œPertamina will ensure that the supply of the Pertamax series, including Pertamax, Pertamax Plus, and Pertamina Dex, is sufficient at gas stations in the restricted areas,'€ Ali said in a statement posted on the firm'€™s website. (idb/dyl/ask)