When President Jokowi Insinuates PLN And Pertamina: There Are Subsidies Without Efficiency, Why Is It Really Good

President Joko Widodo (Photo: Antara)

JAKARTA - President Joko Widodo quipped PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (Persero) and PT Pertamina (Persero) for receiving large subsidies but not being efficient.

"There is a subsidy from the Minister of Finance without any efficiency efforts at PLN and at Pertamina. It looks really good," said Jokowi when opening a limited cabinet meeting at the Presidential Office on Monday, June 20.

For this reason, Jokowi asked Ministries and Institutions (K/L) to do as much efficiency as possible so that the government has fiscal leeway.

Despite having a heavy fiscal burden, Jokowi emphasized that the government is committed to providing subsidies to the public, both related to fuel oil (BBM), especially diesel, gas and electricity.

Previously, member of Commission VII RI Mulyanto asked PLN not only to adjust electricity tariffs, but also to have the courage to carry out massive operational efficiency in order to ease the burden of subsidies.

"PLN should not only rely on increasing electricity tariffs for household customers to improve service and financial performance, but the main thing is that it is obliged to continuously improve its operational efficiency, so that PLN's electricity production costs (BPP) decrease," said Mulyanto in a statement in Jakarta, Wednesday. June 15.

On the other hand, Pertamina in his statement revealed that in the midst of the challenges of crude oil prices that continued to soar, PT Pertamina (Persero) strengthened its financial strategy and operational efforts to increase efficiency in all business lines, both holding and subholding starting from upstream, processing to downstream.

From this business strategy, during 2021 Pertamina succeeded in optimizing costs of 2.21 billion US dollars, which was obtained from a cost saving program of 1.36 billion US dollars, cost avoidance of 356 million US dollars and additional revenue (revenue growth) of about 495 million US dollars.