History Of 3 Kilogram Gas Cylinders: Products From The Conversion Of Soil Oil To LPG

JAKARTA - The Indonesian people have depended on kerosene for their daily needs. Andil the government provides subsidies for kerosene as the estuary. Another condition is because kerosene is easy to obtain and of course can be retailed.

Recently, the presence of kerosene is considered to have brought many harm rather than benefits. The subsidy is like killing the economy. Everything changed when Jusuf Kalla (JK) became Vice President since 2004. He inflamed the conversion of kerosene to gas. 3 Kilogram LPG (Elpiji) cylinders are his mainstay product.

Cooking habits use kerosene like cultivating in the archipelago. Soil oil is considered the most practical. Cheap, subsidized, and easy to obtain. This condition makes many people do not want to switch to other energies.

This does not mean that the government has not introduced energy that is more environmentally friendly. In the past, when the government introduced Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) since 1968. Pertamina proudly introduced its gas energy to Elpiji. Problems arise. Not many people want to switch to Elpiji.

The lower middle class let alone. Changes are considered to be adding new costs: buying canisters and gas stoves. The existence of kerosene users is increasing from the New Order (Orba) era to the reform era.

The bonds between the Indonesian people and kerosene are difficult to escape. In fact, many small industry players are also looking at the energy of kerosene. This tolerance was tested when fuel scarcity occurred. Soil oil remains a hunt.

Many people don't really mind the price of kerosene that often increases. The people of Indonesia seem to have no choice. They only expect the government to maintain the availability of its stock. The business of buying kerosene is a responsibility for the community.

There is no other choice for those with a sickle of money. Want to replace it to a gas stove whose blue fire doesn't make the frying buttocks clearly impossible.

"It takes capital to buy cylinders and stoves. A total of 500 thousand silvers can not be purchased in retail. So, even though oil prices continue to rise, they continue to pursue them. It's okay to keep chasing them. It's fine, as long as there are goods," wrote Agus S. Riyanto and Rinny Srihartini in their report in Tempo magazine entitled Continuing Land Oil Prices (2003).

However, the problem of kerosene is not as simple as many people imagine. These problems include the long distribution chain, hoarding, large subsidies, to kerosene, including part of dirty energy.

Not to mention the affairs of political interests ahead of the 2004 elections. The government is like holding back against raising fuel prices and continuing the subsidy of kerosene so as to maintain the people's emotions in political contestation. In fact, the Indonesian economy is in disarray.

Subsidy for kerosene does make the people comfortable. However, the subsidy does not benefit the government. Many countries are disadvantaged by the existence of kerosene. Each liter of the government comes out with approximately Rp. 5,000 and the total consumption of kerosene reaches 12 million kilo liters per year.

The government is starting to think about turning to other energies to reduce the burden of subsidies. The thought arose when Jusuf Kalla served as Vice President accompanying Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY).

JK sees that the kerosene subsidy is quite large. The cost of producing kerosene is considered the equivalent of avtur. Subsidy for kerosene is not on target. JK tries to rack his brain so that the Indonesian people turn to clean energy and the subsidies don't need to be large.

JK then issued the idea of converting kerosene to gas in 2007. He tried to reduce the subsidy of kerosene. He also introduced the people with important products: 3 kilograms Elpiji cylinders (tubes of melon gas). At that time the available gas cylinders were at least 12 kilograms.

The 3-kilogram green gas cylinder was deliberately presented so that it could be reached by many people. The conversion program is carried out by providing 3-kilogram gas cylinders along with gas compasses and other devices to poor families.

The program was well received from 2007 to 2010. Many poor families were helped by the availability of a program to convert kerosene to gas. They finally got to know energy that was efficient, practical, and hot quickly. People are helped.

Slowly the Indonesian people began to be able to escape the shadow of kerosene. This condition allows the government to save on the budget for subsidies.

The conversion was originally intended to convert the use of dirty energy (soil oil) to clean energy (gas fuel). Therefore, in this conversion process, it is hoped that gas fuel (ELPIJI 3 kg) can be used by as many households and micro-business groups.

"After this program runs in the SBY era, and there is no use of kerosene anymore, there is a paradigm shift that the beneficiaries of the 3 kilogram ELPIJI subsidy are directed to poor households and groups of residents with the lowest socio-economic status," said Ajisatria Suleiman in the book Digital Security Network (2021).