Bapeptal prone to outside influence: NGOs
Bapeptal prone to outside influence: NGOs
Leony Aurora, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are seriously questioning
the independence of the recently established Power Market
Supervision Agency (Bapeptal) and the lack of public
participation in selecting the members.
The agency was formed in accordance with government regulation
No. 53/2003, which regulates that the Minister of Energy and
Mineral Resources will recommend candidates for its membership to
the President and the House of Representatives.
"How can the agency be independent when the members are
proposed by the minister (of energy)?" said Parulian Sihombing of
the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH Jakarta) in a press
conference on Tuesday.
LBH Jakarta is a member of the Working Group on Power Sector
Restructuring (WG-PSR), which also groups, among others, the
Indonesian Consumer Agency (YLKI), International NGO Forum on
Indonesian Development (INFID) and Indonesian Corruption Watch
(ICW).
Countering this, Yogo Pratomo, the Director General of
Electricity and Energy Usage of the ministry told The Jakarta
Post that "the public will be represented by House members."
The regulation was drafted to complement Power Law No.
20/2002, which, starting in 2007, will end state power company PT
Perusahaan Listrik Negara's (PLN) monopoly by allowing private
companies to sell electricity directly to customers. Prices will
be determined by a market mechanism in competitive areas.
Java, Bali and Batam are considered the competitive areas,
although studies are still being conducted to officially declare
them as such.
Bapeptal plays a vital role since it will take over the
government's tasks in regulating and supervising competition
among power suppliers in competitive areas.
Yogo explained that anyone who complied with the requirements
could apply to be a member of the agency. After interviews and a
psychological test, the ministry would submit a short list of 10
candidates to the House.
"Five will be chosen after interviews by the House members,"
he said. The team could be expanded to 11 members, as stipulated
by the ruling.
According to Fabby Tumiwa, WG-PSR coordinator, such a
selection mechanism does not involve the public and is highly
susceptible to outside interference. "An independent committee
should be formed with a selection process open to the public," he
said.
He also urged the government to be cautious in choosing
Bapeptal members and review the loopholes in the regulation.
WG-PSR scorned the government for issuing the ruling amid an
ongoing judicial review process of the power law.
"This is a violation of the legal code of ethics," said
Parulian. He further explained that technically, the ruling also
violated the power law -- specifically, an article that states
that the agency should be formed one year after its enactment at
the latest.
The ruling came out on Oct. 3 last year, a little over 13
months after the enactment of the power law.
The working group also questioned the agency's duties and
jurisdictions, some of which overlapped with other institutions.
"For monitoring unhealthy competition, for example, we already
have KPPU," said Fabby, referring to the Business Competition
Supervisory Commission.
Another overlapping function is the facilitation of disputes
between customers and power producers.
Several duties and jurisdictions of Bapeptal
1. To define and implement the government's general policy in
power supply business arrangements.
2. To prevent unhealthy business competition.
3. To issue licenses for power supply businesses.
4. To facilitate the settlements of disputes in competition and
services
5. To ensure adequate power supply.
6. To give administrative sanctions to license holders who
violate regulations and licenses.