Govt to ease regulations on geothermal

The government is drafting several regulations which will provide greater freedom for state owned firms and private firms to develop geothermal energy, the Directorate General of New Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation (EBTKE) at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (MEMR) said in a statement on Friday.

There are three governmental regulations implementing Geothermal Law No. 21/2014 being drafted, which covers direct utilization, indirect utilization and production bonus respectively. Two of the governmental regulations are expected to be issued in December of this year, according to Yunus Saefulhak, Director of Geothermal at EBTKE.

They are now being harmonized by related ministries, such as the Ministry of Law and Human Rights, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of State Enterprises, the Ministry of Environment and the MEMR, Yunus said.

Under the regulations,, the government may assign state owned enterprises (SOEs), such as PT Pertamina (Persero), PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) and PT Geodipa, to carry out geothermal explorations.

Besides, the SOEs and private companies will be allowed to apply with the government for certain working areas where they plan to carry out preliminary survey and exploration. ?Once they succeed, the acreages will be awarded to them through direct appointment, meaning they can develop the acreage. This mechanism is attractive to many people,? he said.

Still, some acreages will be offered to investors through conventional tender mechanism, he said.

Editing by Johannes Simbolon