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Finance Ministry urged to settle debts to Pertamina, PLN
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Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Ignasius Jonan called on Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati to immediately repay the government’s debts to state energy giants Pertamina and PLN to ease their financial burdens. (The Jakarta Post/wienda parwitasari)
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nergy and Mineral Resources Minister Ignasius Jonan has called on Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati to immediately repay the government’s debts to state energy giants Pertamina and PLN to ease their financial burdens.
The Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry announced on Wednesday its decision to maintain the prices of electricity sold by PLN as well as Premium gasoline and Solar subsidized diesel fuel sold by Pertamina within the first quarter of 2018.
Subsequently, Pertamina and PLN will be forced to bear the burden of increasing crude and coal prices. Coal accounts for 55 percent of PLN’s electricity supply costs (BPP).
“Hence, I have asked the finance minister to make the allocation to pay the bills from Pertamina and PLN,” Jonan said on Wednesday.
As of 2016, the government still owed Pertamina Rp 22 trillion (US$1.54 billion) in subsidies for the sale of subsidized 3 kilogram liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) canisters and subsidized Solar diesel. Moreover, the government had yet to pay Rp 8.4 trillion for gasoline supplied by Pertamina to the Indonesian Military since 2014.
“The government has only repaid Rp 5.5 trillion of the military-related debt. We hope the remaining [Rp 2.9 trillion] can be settled in January,” Pertamina president director Elia Massa Manik said.
Meanwhile, PLN president director Sofyan Basir said the government still owed the electricity firm Rp 10 trillion in subsidies for electricity sold by the company to customers. “The government might repay this debt by the end of 2017.” (bbn)
