Bioethenol Setara Pertamax Plus Will Be Tested, Minister Of Energy And Mineral Resources Make Sure There Are No Subsidies

Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Arifin Tasrif. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - The government will conduct a trial of selling fuel from a mixture of bioethenol or E5 and Pertamax in early June 2023.

However, Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) Arifin Tasrif said that the government would not provide subsidies for this type of fuel.

"No. The period is subsidized again," he said when met by the media crew of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources Building, Friday, June 23.

Regarding the price to be marketed, Arifin said that if later bioethenol would be sold according to the economic price of the fuel.

He explained that if Bioethenol was a mixture of fuel between Pertamax or BBM RON 92 and Ethanol as much as 5 percent and would produce environmentally friendly fuel with an octane number reaching 95 or the equivalent of Pertamax Plus.

"It will be mixed later so that the octane can rise to octane 95. It will be good for motorbikes," added Arifin.

Furthermore, he explained, this type of fuel is not a new type and has been widely used by other countries, but this has only been used in Indonesia as an alternative energy source to balance fossil fuels that are still used in Indonesia.

Previously, the Director General of New Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation (EBTKE) of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources Dadan Kusdiana said that if starting in early July, the government would test the use of cane-based bioethenol mixed with fuel oil (BBM).

Dadan said that for the initial stage, he had prepared 100,000 KL bioethenol, but because it was still in the trial stage, it would start with 40,000 KL.

Later, this bioethenol will be produced by two companies, namely PT Perkebunan Nusantara (PTPN) and a private company in Malang, Molina.

Regarding prices, Dadan said, it would not be much different from the Pertamax price which is currently priced at IDR 12,400.

"How much is it now? Yes, it's the same as bioethenol," concluded Dadan.