Indonesian House of Representatives Members Back Government in Maintaining National Energy Supply and Prices

Jakarta, March 2024 — Member Jamaludin Malik of Commission XII of the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR RI) supports the government’s efforts through the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) to maintain the stability of national energy supply and prices in the face of global geopolitical dynamics. In his statement in Jakarta on Thursday, Jamaludin said such anticipatory measures are important to protect the purchasing power of the public and to ensure economic activity continues smoothly amid rising energy needs for households. ‘We, the members of Commission XII DPR RI, back the government’s steps through the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources to maintain the stability of the national energy supply and prices. Such anticipatory measures are important so that the public remains calm in the evolving global geopolitical dynamics,’ he said. Strengthening national energy resilience, he added, must remain a shared focus. One way is by increasing the capacity of national energy reserves so Indonesia has a stronger room to anticipate various potential global energy supply disruptions. ‘Developing energy storage infrastructure is a strategic step that can reinforce the national energy reserve system in the medium and long term,’ he said. In addition, he said the government’s efforts to ensure the availability of national energy deserve appreciation, particularly with the current stock of fuel oil (BBM) around three weeks. He argued that this condition shows the national energy supply system is still maintained, and welcomed the government’s policy to ensure subsidised BBM prices remain stable ahead of Ramadan and Idul Fitri. Previously, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister (ESDM) Bahlil Lahadalia said he would increase storage capacity of BBM from initially 25-26 days to 90 days or three months. He stated this at a press conference on ‘Recent Developments in the Middle East and Implications for the ESDM Sector’ at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Jakarta, on Tuesday 3/3. ‘In fact, our energy resilience, our storage, is maximum at 25-26 days, not more than that,’ Bahlil said. The remark responded to a comparison between Indonesia’s energy resilience and Japan, where BBM stocks can last up to 254 days. The imbalance is due to Indonesia’s limited storage. The government is currently working to build storage with capacity of up to 90 days or three months, to align with international standards, and a feasibility study on the storage development is ongoing.