Ministry plans to issue regulation on power for apartments

The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources is planning to issue a regulation on power distributed to tenants of apartments and condominiums.

The Directorate General of Electricity held a coffee-morning gathering on Thursday with representatives of regional and central governments, state owned electricity firm PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) and apartment and condominium developers and managers to inform them about the contents of the regulation.

Under the regulation, if apartment and condominium managers distribute power to tenants? rooms as well as social and general facilities shared by all the tenants without a profit margin, such activity is not considered a business activity. However, if the apartment and condominium operators take a profit margin from such activity, they are considered as selling power or conducting power business. As such, they should obtain Electrical Power Provision Business License (IUPTL), officials of the directorate general explained during the coffee-morning gathering.

The IUPTL is issued by a governor and the power tariff will be determined by the governor and the local council, the directorate general said in a statement.

This is in line with Law No. 23/2014 on Regional Government which stipulates that governors hold authority over power licensing. A governor holds the rights to issue IUPTL, set power rates for consumers, supervise and issue administrative sanctions on IUPTL holders in their respective areas.

Editing by Johannes Simbolon