TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
PGN cancels plan to raise industrial gas prices
The decision to cancel the price hike came from the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, which owns a majority of PGN through state-owned energy holding company Pertamina. In a carefully worded statement, PGN said the ministry’s decision was regrettable because the company would have used the higher revenue margins to finance expanding its gas distribution network.
Change Size
Engineers of Perusahaan Gas Negara (PGN) examine gas pipes that will be installed to supply the Tambak Aji industrial estate in Semarang, Central Java, in this file picture from 2014. (tribunnews.com/Wahyu Sulistiyawan )
P
ublicly listed gas company PGN has canceled a plan to raise industrial gas prices next month after receiving protests from local businesses since September.
The decision to cancel the price hike came from the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, which owns a majority of PGN through state-owned energy holding company Pertamina.
In a carefully worded statement, PGN said the ministry’s decision was regrettable because the company would have used the higher revenue margins to finance expanding its gas distribution network.
Indonesia is set on having natural gas contribute at least 22 percent of total energy consumption by 2025 as mandated under the General Planning for National Energy (RUEN) road map. Natural gas contributed 18 percent to the energy mix last year.
“PGN realizes that consumer incentives in all sectors cannot be maintained forever because PGN also has the responsibility to expand the utilization of gas,” said PGN corporate secretary Rachmat Hutama, adding that the company had been contemplating the price hike for seven years.
PGN first announced the price hike in a circular letter dated July 31, which said the company would “adjust gas prices for industrial customers” starting Oct. 1. Following protests from industry players, PGN pushed back the date to Nov. 1.
PGN never publicly revealed how much it would raise gas prices, which fueled concerns over unreasonably high prices among business customers, especially those affiliated with the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) and Indonesian Ceramic Industry Association (Asaki).
