BPH Migas Saves Nearly IDR 470 Billion in State Funds by Curbing Fuel Subsidy Misappropriation
The Downstream Oil and Gas Regulatory Agency (BPH Migas) has revealed that it successfully prevented potential state losses of nearly IDR 470 billion by curbing the misappropriation of subsidised fuel. The savings were achieved through corrective actions on distribution irregularities identified at hundreds of fuel stations.
BPH Migas Head Wahyudi Anas explained that the findings were the result of joint supervision with law enforcement agencies. The agency will continue to conduct regular audits to ensure state funds are secure and do not leak to ineligible parties.
“We have also made corrections to the distribution of subsidised fuel and state compensation amounting to approximately 24,711.17 kilolitres across 449 distribution points. If we calculate the value, it comes to nearly IDR 470 billion,” he stated during a hearing with Commission XII of the House of Representatives (DPR RI) in Jakarta.
The crackdown was accompanied by sanctions and guidance for 2,694 petrol stations (SPBU) found to have violated regulations. Furthermore, the agency has been cleansing the system data by blocking 307,107 QR codes suspected of being used for fraudulent practices in the field.
“We are continuously optimising efforts to ensure subsidised fuel distribution is on target. We have blocked nearly 307,107 QR codes, and this number continues to rise as illegally produced QR codes and other issues emerge,” he added.
According to BPH Migas records, the realisation of subsidised fuel distribution up to the middle of this year shows an increasing trend. Subsidised Diesel distribution has reached 9.48 million kilolitres, or 50.85 percent of this year’s quota, while Pertalite reached 13.96 million kilolitres, equivalent to 47.68 percent of the total quota of 29.27 million kilolitres.
“The current increase is particularly in the Diesel sector. Following the price hikes for general fuel types, including the Dex series and Pertamax, there has been a shift where people who previously used non-subsidised fuel are switching to subsidised fuel,” he noted.
The agency is tightening supervision through vehicle data validation in the MyPertamina subsidy system. This includes cleansing 1.5 million vehicle data records to follow up on recommendations from supervisory bodies to prevent further misuse of energy subsidies.
“Activities outside SPBU and the transportation chain may require support from Commission XII so that we can synergise more strongly to ensure the distribution of subsidised fuel is truly on target,” he concluded.