Fuel and electricity price not to increase next years
Thursday, March 29 2007 - 05:00 AM WIB
The government would not raise the selling prices of subsidized fuel and electricity basic tariff in 2008 ? 2009 as it is optimistic the international fuel price would move beneath US$60 per barrel, Investor Daily reported.
State Minister for National Development Planning/Head of the National Development Planning Board Paskah Suzetta said in Jakarta on Wednesday that the international oil price won?t increase to US$70 per barrel.
The price is predicted to range from $57 to $60 per barrel, meaning that subsidy on fuel and electricity would decrease too, he went on.
Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Purnomo Yusgiantoro disclosed that the government decided to continue subsidizing the two basic commodities. In a bid to reduce fuel and electricity subsidy, the government had replaced them by cheap alternative energy.
In 2007, the government allocated fuel and electricity subsidy amounting to Rp 87.6 trillion. (*)