March Inflation Eases to 3.48 Percent, Electricity Discount Effects Still "Lingering"

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - The annual inflation rate is beginning to show a downward trend in March 2026. However, behind this slowdown, the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) assesses that there are still “shadows” of old policies affecting price movements, particularly from the electricity sector.

BPS Chief Amalia Adininggar Widyasanti noted that the annual inflation in March 2026 stood at 3.48 percent, easing from February’s 4.76 percent.

Although it has decreased, this figure is deemed not yet fully reflective of the real price conditions in society.

“In January–February 2025, the government implemented an electricity tariff discount policy, so the price level during that period was below the normal trend and suppressed the Consumer Price Index,” said Amalia in a written statement on Wednesday (1/4/2026).

BPS recorded that the annual electricity tariff inflation in March 2026 reached 26.99 percent. The housing, water, electricity, and household fuel group also recorded inflation of 7.24 percent with a contribution of 1.08 percent to the total inflation.

“If there had been no electricity discount policy in January–February 2025, then the March 2026 inflation would have been around 2.48 percent,” Amalia explained.

According to her, the current inflationary pressures are largely illusory due to the influence of a low comparison base from the previous year.

In January 2025, the discount was only given to prepaid electricity customers. February 2025 covered prepaid and postpaid, while March 2025 applied only to postpaid customers.

The proportion of postpaid customers in 150 regencies/cities of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) is recorded at 38.16 percent of the total PLN customer households.

This difference in coverage makes the “rebound” effect of inflation in 2026 uneven across each month.