House agrees to revise geothermal law

The House of Representatives? Commission VII that supervises among others energy affairs has concluded that the Geothermal Law No. 27/2003 needs to be revised in order to attract more investment into the sector.

The Commission made such a conclusion after a hearing with the representatives of geothermal power developers Chevron Geothermal Indonesia and Star Energy on Wednesday. During the hearing, the representatives of both firms unveiled the obstacles that hamper the development of the country?s geothermal industry.

The Commission asked Chevron to make a study on the chapters in the law that need to be revised.

The Commission also concluded they will ask for a hearing with ministers that handle economic affairs (the coordinating minister of the economy, minister of energy and mineral resources, minister of finance and minister of forestry) to clarify the problems that have hampered the development of the industry and the possible solutions to the problems. (Bernard)