Finance Minister Purbaya assesses Indonesia remains safe from energy emergency situation

Finance Minister of Indonesia Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa assesses that Indonesia remains safe from an energy emergency situation amid the escalation of conflict between the US-Israel and Iran. As of now, he has no plans to alter the structure of the 2026 State Revenue and Expenditure Budget (APBN) or energy subsidy policies. “Our APBN is still resilient. I won’t change the APBN or existing subsidies until the point where oil prices might become extremely high,” Purbaya stated in Jakarta on Wednesday. As is known, the Philippines has already declared a national energy emergency status on 24 March 2026 due to a fuel supply crisis triggered by the conflict in the Middle East. In response, the Finance Minister assured that Indonesia’s fiscal condition remains sufficiently strong to absorb the pressure from rising fuel prices. Assuming relatively controlled oil prices, Purbaya assesses that no policy adjustments are needed in the near term. Drawing from the Philippines case, the concept of an energy emergency is not solely determined by price spikes but more by disruptions in energy supplies. For Indonesia’s context, he assured that energy supplies are still available. “An energy emergency isn’t about the APBN. What I mean is if the supply stops, that’s what I’m afraid of. Not the price, but if there’s no supply. Right now, there is still supply, so it can’t be called an emergency yet,” he explained. Furthermore, the State Treasurer stated that the government will continue to monitor global developments, particularly the impact of the Middle East conflict on the energy supply chain. He emphasised the importance of vigilance without taking steps too prematurely. “What I mean by energy emergency is, for example, if the supply stops, that’s what I’m afraid of. Not the price, the supply isn’t there. This still has supply. So if you say emergency, no. But we must always prepare for the future,” Purbaya said. Furthermore, regarding fuel oil (BBM) subsidy policies, Purbaya assured that there are no plans for changes. His side chooses to maintain policy stability while awaiting further developments. “As far as I know, there aren’t any (policy changes). So I say, don’t disturb the budget yet. This is still too early,” he explained. From the macroeconomic assumptions side, he revealed that the Indonesian Crude Price (ICP) is currently around 74 US dollars per barrel, slightly above the initial APBN assumption of around 70 US dollars per barrel. Although there has been an increase, the difference is deemed still within manageable limits. “Yes (74 US dollars per barrel) up to now. So it’s exceeding (the APBN assumption) by about 4 dollars, right? That’s what’s calculated. Later if this rise (is high), we’ll calculate again how much,” he added.