Govt opens selection of power market board members
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.