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Jokowi orders switch to EVs, public may not follow
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An official charges a car after the launch of the first public electric vehicle (EV) charging station, which will be used for EVs transporting world leaders during the Group of 20 Summit later this year in Nusa Dua, Bali. (AFP/Sonny Tumbelaka)
P
resident Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has mandated the use of electric vehicles (EVs) for government officials across the country in a move aimed at expediting the country’s transition to battery-powered transportation, but experts say that this alone will not mean the general public will follow suit.
Presidential Instruction No. 7/2022, in effect since Tuesday, orders agencies and institutions at both the central and regional level, including the Indonesian Military, National Police, Attorney General’s Office and state-owned enterprises (SOEs), to devise policies and budgets accommodating the switch.
The instruction provides some leeway on how to procure EVs, allowing officials to purchase, lease or convert existing vehicles, with state funds used to finance most of the transition.
Jokowi instructed officials to formulate policies to speed up the EV transition, for instance by imposing a moratorium on conventional vehicle procurement within the government, shifting subsidies from fossil fuel-powered vehicles to EVs and asking state-owned lenders to ease loan disbursement for EVs.
“The presidential instruction is proof of the President’s commitment to carrying out the energy transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy,” Presidential Chief of Staff Moeldoko claimed in a statement published on Thursday.
Read also: Time to switch rides as fuel gets pricey, EV carmakers say
The instruction came shortly after the government raised the price of subsidized gasoline and diesel by 30 percent on Sept. 3 to prevent a further ballooning of the state budget’s allocation for energy subsidies and compensation.
