February 2026 Inflation at 4.76 Per Cent, Electricity Tariffs the Key Driver
Jakarta – Year-on-year inflation in February 2026 reached 4.76 per cent, with the normalisation of electricity tariffs serving as the dominant factor driving the increase.
The rise in annual inflation stems from the ongoing impact of electricity price normalisation in early 2026, following the government’s provision of a 50 per cent electricity subsidy during January-February 2025. This situation created what is known as a low-base effect.
“When the 50 per cent electricity discount was in effect during January-February 2025, the Consumer Price Index fell to 68.40 and 53.83 respectively,” said Amalia Adininggar Widyasanti, Head of Indonesia’s Central Bureau of Statistics, in a written statement in Jakarta on Monday (2 March 2026).
“Consequently, in February 2025, there was general deflation of -0.09 per cent year-on-year, during which electricity experienced deflation of -46.45 per cent.”
“During January-February 2025, the government implemented an electricity tariff discount policy. As a result, price levels during that period were lower than normal conditions and suppressed the Consumer Price Index,” explained Amalia.
“This policy was not implemented in January and February 2026, and prices returned to normal levels. The difference in electricity tariffs that consumers must pay is reflected as an increase in the Consumer Price Index, resulting in higher inflation rates.”
Of the total annual inflation of 4.76 per cent in February 2026, 2.17 percentage points were contributed by electricity tariff commodities. Year-on-year, electricity tariffs themselves experienced inflation of 86.96 per cent.
“This is what is called inflation resulting from electricity tariff normalisation following a low-price base, or the so-called low-base effect,” said Amalia.
Amalia added that the Central Bureau of Statistics’ simulation showed a different picture if the 50 per cent electricity discount in February 2025 had never occurred.
“Based on the Central Bureau of Statistics’ calculation, if the effect of the 50 per cent electricity discount were eliminated, assuming there was no discount in February 2025, then February 2026 inflation would be in the range of 2.54 per cent,” she said.
Accordingly, the 4.76 per cent inflation figure for February 2026 should be understood more comprehensively. The increase does not solely reflect new price surges but rather the impact of comparison with a previous period when prices were artificially depressed by the electricity discount policy.