Govt issues regulation on electricity exports and imports

The government has issued a new regulation to allow export and import of electricity from or to neighboring countries to support a power interconnection program to be implemented within members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Director General of Electricity at the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, Jarman, said in Jakarta on Tuesday that the new regulation was also issued as part of the implementation of article 41 on electricity trading across countries in the Law No 30/2009 on Electricity.

At present, state electricity company PLN is waiting for a permit from the government to conduct trading of electricity between West Kalimantan and Serawak, Malaysia.

According to the new regulation, export is subject to approval from the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry and is allowed only after the electricity needs in the producing regions have been fully fulfilled.

The export price should also not include subsidy and the trading should not affect the quality and reliability of power supply in the regions.

Meanwhile, imports of electricity are allowed only if the availability of power supply in the regions is less than 30 percent. More importantly, the export should not bring any negative impact to the country?s sovereignty, security and economic development.

The trading contract can last for five years and can be extended. The trading either imports or exports should be periodically reported to the Energy and Mineral Resources Minister, which could issue sanctions, warnings or revocations of contracts if traders involved in export and import activities did not comply with regulations or fail to meet their obligations. (*)