Bali Provincial Government Reveals BPS Findings: Poor Residents Not Receiving Electricity Subsidies

Bali Province has disclosed findings from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) indicating that residents in deciles 1-5, i.e. the poor, in Bali do not receive electricity subsidies. For context, deciles 1-5 are a welfare ranking used to prioritise social assistance, with decile 1 representing the ultra-poor.

‘BPS recently sent a letter to the Secretary to ground-check the link with energy subsidies in the electricity sector. It turns out that those in deciles 1-5 are not receiving electricity subsidies of 490-900,’ said Ida Bagus Setiawan, Head of the Bali Department of Manpower and Energy and Mineral Resources, on Wednesday (4 March 2026).

Setiawan added that some people in deciles 6-10 are receiving subsidies. ‘This is a phenomenon or real dynamics on the ground, especially in Bali, which is why BPS is conducting ground checks,’ he explained.

Setiawan explained that in line with the Bali Secretary’s instructions, all regencies/cities should facilitate BPS’s ground-check activities. ‘At the Disnaker ESDM we are therefore following the directive to ensure the distribution is targeted; the challenge now is that it is not targeted. That is why these dynamics occur,’ he said.

In addition to electricity distribution, he noted that gas cylinder distribution is also not targeted, leading to shortages or stockouts in the community.

Setiawan hopes that ahead of the Eid al-Fitr and Nyepi holidays, gas stock in Bali will be secure. He asked regencies/cities to urge their communities to be orderly and to follow the subsidy rules when purchasing gas cylinders.

‘For us at the provincial level, we face some difficulty because the users have been inventoried as residents of the regencies/cities. This recurring problem requires us to seek solutions together in the future,’ Setiawan concluded.