PLN Receives Payment For Electricity Subsidy Of IDR 75.83 Trillion From The Government

PLN President Director Darmawan Prasodjo. (Photo: Doc. PLN)

PT PLN (Persero) and the Ministry of Finance signed a 2024 Energy Subsidy Contract between the Government and PLN on Thursday, March 14 at the Sutikno Slamet Building, Directorate General of Budget, Ministry of Finance, Jakarta.

The signing is an effort to provide affordable access to electrical energy for the community and small business actors will continue this year.

Through this signing, the state-owned stun company received a subsidy budget of IDR 75.83 trillion, consisting of an electricity subsidy budget for the current year of IDR 73.24 trillion and an underpaid budget for electricity subsidies for the 2022 budget year of IDR 2.58 trillion.

The Director General of Budget at the Ministry of Finance, Isa Rachmatarwata, said that the signing of this energy subsidy contract is expected to increase the commitment between the Government and Business Entities in serving the community to be able to access energy at affordable prices, especially for the poor and vulnerable and certain business sectors on a micro scale.

"This subsidy has always been an important thing for our country, because with subsidies, this government can indeed be present directly for the community and help people face price fluctuations, supply availability, and so on," Isa explained in his statement to the media on Friday, March 15.

Isa added that this figure is not a small number and he wants to ensure that the subsidy budget falls to the right parties.

"This means that those who have the right to receive subsidies should actually get the subsidized goods," added Isa.

Isa also hopes that PLN can distribute this subsidy on target.

PLN President Director Darmawan Prasodjo said PLN is committed to realizing subsidies from the government on target, namely for 450 Volt Ampere (VA) power household electricity customers and part of 900 VA power, as well as small business and industrial customers up to 5,500 VA power.

"We distribute subsidies by name and by address for recipients who really need them from the underprivileged and small business actors so that they are very right on target," explained Darmawan.

PLN's efforts with the government are a form of commitment to reduce economic pressure, especially for underprivileged communities and small businesses that really need assistance.

"PLN is ready to realize subsidies from the Government for underprivileged communities and UMK business actors. According to the direction of the Minister of Finance, every rupiah issued by PLN must be ensured for the benefit of the people," he said.

PLN also expressed its appreciation for the payment of electricity subsidies on time to the company so as to support the company's business continuity.

"We also express our gratitude to the Government, in this case the Ministry of Finance, which also plays a role in supervising and overseeing financial governance at PLN, especially in the distribution of subsidies," he said.

The presence of the state through electricity subsidies also received a positive response from the community, one of which was Nuraini (45) who became a 450 VA power customer.

Women who work as fried food entrepreneurs in Pekanbaru feel very grateful for the assistance from the government.

"The electricity subsidy given to small entrepreneurs like us really helps our business productivity, especially to reduce our living expenses," said Nuraini.