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Energy: Dissecting presidential debate
Energy is the backbone of every nation’s economic growth. For a country with a fast growing economy such as Indonesia, the soaring demand for energy should be coupled with a steady supply. However, the hard truth is that Indonesia is now a net importer of oil and will potentially be a net importer of gas in the foreseeable future.
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Warm ending: Presidential candidate Joko “Jokowi” Widodo (left) embraces his contender, Prabowo Subianto, after the 2019 presidential candidate debate at Hotel Sultan in Jakarta. The debate was focused on energy and food, natural resources and environment as well as infrastructure. (JP/Donny Fernando)
E
nergy is the backbone of every nation’s economic growth. For a country with a fast growing economy such as Indonesia, the soaring demand for energy should be coupled with a steady supply. However, the hard truth is that Indonesia is now a net importer of oil and will potentially be a net importer of gas in the foreseeable future. Indonesia’s electrification ratio is reported to have reached nearly 95 percent at the end of 2017. While the published data may not support this, much of Indonesia is still under electrified.
It is a common understanding that fossil fuel extraction and consumption cause detrimental effects to the environment, thus the urgency for having more sustainable alternatives. There is also a push for getting the country to reduce its reliance on foreign oil and to maintain energy sovereignty.
The issue of energy was one of the topics discussed at the second presidential debate on Feb. 17, along with issues on food, infrastructure, natural resources and the environment. Despite the prominence of the energy issue, the topic was merely alluded to through a question that subsequently led to three sub-questions regarding palm oil and B20 biodiesel (diesel fuel with 20 percent palm oil content). The B20 program was established in 2016. Through Ministerial Regulation No. 12/2015, Indonesia has set an ambitious target of B30 (biodiesel with 30 percent palm oil content) by 2025. It should also be noted that biofuel is only a small part of the suite of energy solutions needed.
The question on energy that was prepared by the team of panelists and randomly picked by the presidential candidates was: “What will be the candidates’ policies and strategies to revamp the existing palm oil management in order to achieve a minimum of 20 percent biodiesel ( B20 ), to help palm oil farmers and workers prosper, while also maintaining environmental sustainability?” The candidates were given up to two minutes to provide their responses.
Presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto was the first to be given the opportunity to respond. He stated that while Indonesia was heading toward B20,
Brazil had already achieved B90. He stated his optimism about Indonesia’s energy self-sufficiency, and of ensuring palm oil farmers and workers’ welfare through Perkebunan Inti Rakyat, the core estate and smallholder scheme.
Subsequently, incumbent President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo stated the fact that Indonesia had indeed commenced the B20 program, and that it was expected to be perpetuated up to B100 (100 percent biodiesel).
