Govt to cut kerosene supply next year

The government will start reducing the supply of kerosene next year in a bid to encourage households to switch to liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), The Jakarta Post reported on Saturday.

?The gradual phasing out of kerosene for household use is expected to be completed by 2012,? Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Purnomo Yusgiantoro told reporters on Friday.

He said that the kerosene supply would be cut by 1.12 million kiloliters next year. The supply cuts would continue each year until a reduction of 10 million kiloliters had been achieved by 2012. He did not specify whether this was a cumulative figure.

He also said that starting next year, LPG supplies would be increase and that the government would import the commodity if the domestic supply was insufficient to meet rising demand.

Purnomo said that this year the government had to allocate Rp 42 trillion to subsidize kerosene.

The government wants to cut the use of kerosene to reduce the budgetary burden resulting from the costly government subsidy on the fuel amid soaring international oil prices. Kerosene, which is the main fuel used for cooking by millions of Indonesian households, is significantly more expensive than LNG.

The government would also provide help to low-income households for the purchase of LPG canisters. Purnomo said that state oil and gas company Pertamina would be charged with supplying gas stoves to such low-income household. (*)