Govt opens selection of power market board members
Fitri Wulandari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources has began selection for officials for the newly launched power market regulatory body.
The selection follows the recent issuance of the government regulation on the establishment of Electricity Market Regulatory Board (Bapeptal) that will determine electricity prices and supervise competition in the country's soon-to-be-liberalized power sector.
"The selection is open to all Indonesian citizens. Applicants must hold at least a bachelor degree in engineering, preferably civil or electrical engineering," the ministry says in its website.
The government seeks to select five officials for the board although it is allowed by law to have 11.
The position is also open to participants that hold a bachelor degree in law and accountancy.
Aside from the educational requirements, candidates must also meet "technical requirements" such as prior work experience in formulating public policy.
They should also agree not to work for any companies related to the power business to avoid a conflict of interests in the future.
"They must sign a statement that they are not bound to any financial agreements with any companies related to the power business," the website adds.
Interested persons must submit their application before June 17 to the ministry.
Ten candidates will go through a selection process at the House of Representatives. The House will shortlist the candidates to five.
The establishment of Bapeptal is one of the steps being taken to liberalize the country's power sector following the introduction of Electricity Law No. 20/2002, which aims to end the decades-long monopoly of state electricity company PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN).
By liberalizing the sector, the government hopes to lure new investors into the sector. But critics say scrapping PLN's monopoly would increase electricity prices.
The free-market system will not be applied across the country but in selected regions, called "competitive zones", in areas where electricity demand is high. Less-developed regions will still be able to enjoy the power subsidy.
Regions that have been identified as competitive zones are the heavily populated Java-Bali region and the industrial island of Batam.
Under the law, private companies will be allowed to generate power and sell directly to the public. They will have the right to set up their own distribution and transmission networks in cooperation with the government or use the state-owned network now operated by PLN to supply power.
Bapeptal is tasked to determine power prices for regions which still enjoy the power subsidy and ensure healthy competition in the areas where power prices are determined by the market.