Not Just Budget Savings, Here's Why the Top Two Income Deciles Will Be Banned from Buying Pertalite

The government is preparing new regulations regarding the purchase of subsidised Pertalite fuel. In the scheme being studied, people in the economic groups of decile 9 and 10 will no longer be able to buy Pertalite. This plan is part of the government’s efforts to improve the distribution of energy subsidies to be more targeted. Decile 9 and 10 groups are households with the highest per capita expenditure levels in the government’s economic classification.

The policy to restrict Pertalite purchases is currently being discussed by the Ministry of Finance together with the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources. The government is targeting implementation before 2027 or by the end of 2026. Minister of Finance Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa said the government is discussing the possibility of gradually limiting Pertalite subsidies for people with high expenditure levels.

“So earlier we discussed the possibility of implementing restrictions on Pertalite subsidies for the upper levels, perhaps deciles 9-10. So that later, not now, in a few months we can reduce it gradually,” Purbaya said after meeting the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources at the Ministry of Finance Office on Wednesday, 12 August 2026.

The main reason the government is reviewing the restriction is to ensure that subsidised fuel is truly received by the people who need it. The government considers that energy subsidies have so far been enjoyed by groups of people who are classified as well-off. Based on data from the National Socio-Economic Survey, around 79 percent of subsidised fuel is said to be enjoyed by households in deciles 5 to 10. This means that most of the consumption of subsidised fuel still comes from household groups at middle to high expenditure levels. Specifically for deciles 9 and 10, government data shows that these two groups consume around 23 percent of the national Pertalite volume. This figure is one of the bases for the government to review restricting subsidy access for groups with the highest expenditure levels.

Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Bahlil Lahadalia stressed that the distribution of subsidised fuel must be right on target. “Subsidised fuel in the oil and gas sector must be on target,” Bahlil said. However, Bahlil stated that the government is still studying various options and schemes before the policy is implemented.