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No fuel restrictions in October, Bahlil vows
The energy minister says that restrictions will not be imposed on subsidized fuel sales this month as initially planned, to give the government more time to review eligibility criteria and other aspects of the policy.
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Coordinating Economic Minister Airlangga Hartarto (right) speaks with then-Investment Minister Bahlil Lahadalia (left) on Aug. 12, 2024 in Nusantara, East Kalimantan. (Antara/Sigid Kurniawan)
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nergy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia promises that restrictions on the sale of subsidized fuel will not kick in this month, as the plan is under review.
“I want to say that, through October, there will be no fuel restriction yet,” he said on Monday, as quoted by Bisnis.com, speaking after a groundbreaking ceremony for phase two of the Cirebon-Semarang natural gas pipeline project at Batang Industrial Park in Central Java.
Bahlil reiterated that the government was in the process of reviewing eligibility criteria for the fuel subsidy to ensure that no undeserving recipients were taking advantage of the policy.
“The subsidy is for our poor brothers and sisters; don’t take what is rightly theirs. We are readying the regulation [and working on] the methodology and test case,” he said.
Earlier in August, the energy minister said sales restrictions for two subsidized brands of state-owned oil and gas company Pertamina, namely Pertalite (RON 90) gasoline and Solar (CN 48) diesel, would enter force at the beginning of this month.
A new ministerial regulation that revises Presidential Regulation No. 191/2014 forms the legal basis for the restrictions on sales of subsidized fuel.
No regulation currently exists to specify who is eligible to purchase Pertalite, while the presidential regulation only stipulates restrictions for Solar.
