Ministry of Trade operates public EV charging stations to support electric vehicle use

Jakarta (ANTARA) – Trade Minister Budi Santoso has started operating a public electric vehicle charging station (SPKLU) within the Ministry of Trade to support EV use among staff and strengthen the clean energy ecosystem. The facility was inaugurated by Minister Budi at the Ministry of Trade building in Jakarta on Thursday, alongside PLN (Persero) President-Director Darmawan Prasodjo and Deputy Trade Minister Dyah Roro Esti Widya Putri.

“The trend of electric car usage among the Ministry of Trade staff has been rising, so we need SPKLU,” said Budi. He noted that around 15 per cent of Ministry of Trade staff currently use electric vehicles, making charging facilities a vital need in the office environment. He added that the uptake is expected to continue as charging infrastructure becomes more adequate.

“We hope more SPKLU will lead to more people using electric cars because charging is now easier,” he said.

According to a report from the Ministry of Trade’s Secretary-General Isy Karim, the SPKLU facility had undergone a trial phase since December 2025 before being inaugurated in March 2026. He said usage has shown a rising trend since the start of operations. “Since February 2026, charging transactions have reached 2,460 with total energy distributed of 62,598 kWh,” Isy Karim revealed. He added that SPKLU utilisation within the ministry has been fairly busy from morning to afternoon.

The facility is designed not only to serve ministry staff’s vehicles but also to be accessible to the public passing by the ministry precinct.

PLN (Persero) President-Director Darmawan Prasodjo said the SPKLU construction at the Ministry of Trade is part of an effort to accelerate energy transition in the transport sector. “We built three units with six sockets and these already use ultra-fast charging,” he said. He explained that electric vehicles have higher energy efficiency than internal combustion engine vehicles. He noted that internal combustion engine vehicles typically require around Rp13,000 to travel 10 kilometres, while electric vehicles need about 1.5 kWh of electricity or around Rp2,600 for the same distance.

He added that the use of EVs could reduce carbon emissions from the transport sector due to more efficient energy use. PLN will continue to broaden cooperation with various parties to accelerate EV infrastructure development across locations.