Minister issues regulation to implement one-price fuel policy
Monday, November 21 2016 - 02:14 AM WIB
Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Ignasius Jonan had on November 10 signed Ministerial Regulation No 36/2016 to accelerate the implementation of the government?s one-price fuel policy across the country.
The Directorate General of Oil and Gas at the ministry said in a statement that the one-price fuel policy will be effective on January 1, 2017.
The statement said that the one-price policy will affect certain fuel products including automotive diesel, kerosene and the Premium gasoline.
President Joko Widodo, during a visit in Papua, announced on October 18 the one-price fuel policy in a bid to help accelerate economic growth in the country?s eastern regions, where fuel prices have been much higher than the prices applied in western and central regions.
In Papua, for instance, price of premium gasoline could reach as high as Rp 60,000-Rp 100,000 per liter compared to Rp 6,450 per liter in the western and central regions of the country.
Once the one-price fuel policy is effective, the retail price of Premium gasoline will be Rp 6,450 per liter across the country, while automotive diesel at Rp 5,150 per liter.
According to the new ministerial regulation, companies assigned to distribute the aforementioned fuel products are in charge of developing retail supply chain in remote regions where retail outlets are non-existent. The companies must also provide attractive margin to entice retailers to set up gasoline stations or retail outlets in those regions.
Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak