Subsidized Fuel Quota Potentially Broken, Pertamina's Managing Director Asks People To Save

Pertamina President Director Nicke Widyawati. (Photo: ANTARA)

JAKARTA - President Director of PT Pertamina (Persero), Nicke Widyawati, asked people who use subsidized diesel fuel and Pertalite to save money.

This is because the subsidized fuel quota in 2022 has the potential to collapse.

In addition, the subsidy budget for energy has also reached Rp502 trillion.

Nicke detailed that when compared to economic prices, the selling price of fuel and LPG set by the government is very low.

As of July 2022, Solar CN-48 or Biosolar (B30), is sold at a price of IDR 5,150 per liter, even though the economic price reaches IDR 18,150. For every liter of diesel, the government subsidizes Rp. 13,000.

Meanwhile, Pertalite, continued Nicke, the selling price is still Rp. 7,650 per liter, while the current market price is Rp. 17,200. So for every liter of Pertalite, the government subsidizes Rp. 9,550 per liter.

Likewise for PSO LPG, where since 2007 there has been no increase, the price is still IDR 4,250 per kilogram (kg), the market price is IDR 15,698 per kg.

So the subsidy from the government is IDR 11,448 per kilo.

For Pertamax, Pertamina still fixes the price of Rp. 12,500. Whereas for RON 92, competitors have set a price of around Rp. 17,000.

Because economically the market price has reached Rp17,950.

"This government subsidizes very large for every liter of Pertalite sold. Meanwhile for diesel the subsidies are even greater, so actually the effort that can be done from the community side is saving fuel use," Nicke said in Jakarta, Wednesday, July 13.

Nicke asked the public to use subsidized fuel for positive activities.

Because, he said, the subsidies provided by the government are aimed at maintaining people's purchasing power.

"It is important to have cooperation from both parties, because now the burden on the state is huge, so the state is here to maintain people's purchasing power and keep inflation from rising," added Nicke.

The post-pandemic economic recovery, said Nicke, has had an impact on increasing community mobility, so that the trend of selling fuel and LPG also increases.

If this trend continues, it is predicted that Pertalite and Solar will exceed the quota set by the government.

To anticipate this, the government is revising Presidential Regulation No. 191/2014, specifically regarding the criteria for vehicles that are entitled to use subsidized fuel.

According to Nicke, Pertamina must maintain the subsidized fuel quota and ensure its distribution is right on target.

Moreover, based on data from the Ministry of Finance, as many as 40 percent of the poor and vulnerable to poor only consume 20 percent of fuel, but the top 60 percent consume 80 percent of subsidized fuel.