High Demand For Clean Electricity, Government Encourages Power Wheeling To Enter The EBET Bill

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

JAKARTA - Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) Arifin Tasrif opened his voice about the government's plan to include a power steering scheme in the Draft Law on New Energy and Renewable Energy (EBET). Arifin said that his party would immediately discuss the EBET Bill in the near future with Commission VII DPR RI.

In terms of regulations, Arifin admitted that the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources wants to accelerate the entry of the new renewable energy mix (EBT) in the electricity system in Indonesia. Moreover, he said, currently many domestic industries are bringing together clean electricity supplies sourced from EBT.

"Tomorrow this is going to be a working meeting. For example, if now it's a rule, we want to speed up the entry of the mix. Then it's not allowed," Arifin told the media, Friday, November 17.

The use of power steering, he said, is in line with the national goal to encourage a mix of clean energy in the industry. The regulation states that if the products produced by the industry do not come from energy sources that are not environmentally friendly, they will be subject to additional taxes that cause the selling price of the products produced to become uncompetitive. If so, said Arifin, it could have an impact on the company's sustainability.

"For example, if you have an industry, you want to use clean electricity, while you have to look for where the source doesn't exist. The period must be rewarded? What, for example, your industry, the goods are taxed in someone's country if you want to export? It doesn't sell, right? If it doesn't sell, close, he doesn't work," explained Arifin.

Previously, the Chairman of Commission VII DPR RI, Sugeng Suparwoto, said that his party would hold a working meeting with the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources to discuss wheeling to be included in the EBET Bill.

He explained that later in the racket he would only discuss 3 articles, namely the formation of a special agency or EBET manager who did make decisions at the level of the Ministry and discussions about the concept of power steering.

Regarding power steering, he said, it was discussed again after seeing an increase in electricity demand from new renewable energy sources so that the strategy that the government needs to implement is the concept of power steering.

"When the state, in this case PLN, is unable to build an EBT generator, like it or not, IPP too. So later the concept will be (power wheeling).

Sugeng added, so far, for reasons of oversupply, discussions about power wheeling have often been avoided to discuss. However, with the high demand for green electricity, the government needs to immediately discuss the concept.