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Pertalite fuel to be off limits for some customers
Pertamina is working on a smartphone app to ensure that people who are not eligible can no longer purchase subsidized gasoline.
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Crude awakening: Motorists line up at a gas station in Malang, East Java, on May 11. (Antara/Ari Bowo Sucipto)
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tate-owned oil and gas company Pertamina plans to deploy digital technology to restrict the sale of Pertalite, its subsidized RON-90 fuel, as well as its diesel fuel Solar.
By registering customer vehicles through a smartphone app, Pertamina aims to ensure that people who are ineligible to purchase the subsidized fuel are prevented from doing so. The government has kept Pertalite's price fixed despite the skyrocketing cost of oil in the global market.
The high oil prices mean that state funds allocated for fuel subsidies cover a smaller amount of fuel than they otherwise would.
Pertamina president director Nicke Widyawati said imposing quotas by digital means could prevent a shortage of the subsidized fuel, as consumers that did not meet eligibility criteria would be automatically barred from purchasing the fuel.
On April 1, the government raised the prices of Pertamax, which has an octane rating of RON 92, and other unsubsidized types of gasoline by up to 35 percent, which has prompted an exodus of customers from unsubsidized fuels to subsidized fuels.
Read also: Consumers stunned by rising food, energy prices
“We will implement the [digital solution] as soon as we have decided on the criteria, so that if someone does not meet the requirements, the nozzle will not release [the gasoline],” Nicke said during a media gathering on June 8.
