National Energy Council proposes for an increase in electricity prices

The National Energy Council has recommended an increase in the selling prices of electricity produced by independent power producers (IPPs) to state electricity company PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) as the electricity distributor in the country.

The council?s chairman Darwin Zahedy said that the increase in the electricity selling prices was needed in order to attract more investors to get involved in power generation activities. ?At present, the selling prices are still considered too low. This has resulted in the lack of interests on the part of investors to be involved in power generation business,? he added.

Along with the increase in the selling prices of IPP, the government should also gradually increase the electricity tariffs to reach economical levels especially tariffs for big consumers.

In order to minimize the impact of the tariff increase, the government should provide a special package of tariffs to protect consumers of low income segments, he said.

In addition, the council also proposed the government to issue a legal instrument in dealing with power shortage problems in the country. According to the council, funds needed in dealing with the electricity crisis should not only come from the central government, but also from the provincial administration as well as the private sector and foreign sources. (*)