Surabaya City Government Will Call PGN To Clarify Gas Tariff Increase

Deputy Mayor of Surabaya Armuji/PHOTO VIA ANTARA

SURABAYA - The Surabaya City Government is ready to summon the State Gas Company (PGN) regarding the increase in gas tariffs which are considered burdensome for residents and micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) of the City of Heroes, East Java.

"After the new year, we will call PGN to clarify the gas tariff", said Deputy Mayor of Surabaya, Armuji, when visiting one of PGN's customers in Lontong Village, Kupang Krajan, Sawahan, Surabaya, quoted by Antara on Monday, December 27.

According to Armuji, many lontong (rice cake) craftsmen in Lontong Village have complained about the increase in gas prices. There were even lontong craftsmen who received a bill from PGN amounting to IDR 21 million, and more of them were up to IDR 15 million.

According to him, the lontong craftsmen are low-income people (MBR), so PGN should be able to differentiate and prioritize with other tariffs.

Armuji said, from the results of his review, many residents have switched to LPG, and have not cut off the gas flow from PGN. In fact, there are offers for new installations, but many residents do not want to.

"The RWs (Citizens Association) also instructed that even a new installation does not guarantee that it will be cheaper than what PGN is currently doing", he said.

Meanwhile, the family of Soegeng Harijono, one of the entrepreneurs in Lontong Village, claimed to have received a gas bill of IDR 21 million this December.

Tina, Soegeng's wife, said that the use of gas in the last six months has increased. In fact, gas usage is still normal, in July IDR 2 million, September and October IDR 4 million, November IDR 8 million, and December IDR 21 million.

"I don't know about the cubication, right without any notification from PGN, but people say it has gone up. So IDR 6 thousand if I'm not mistaken", she said.

Area Head Surabaya PT PGN Tbk, Arief Nurrachman, explained that the increase was influenced by many factors, one of which was the adjustment of gas prices followed by adjustments to payment guarantees.

In addition, said Arief, the gas price adjustment in Surabaya was implemented after 14 years of not experiencing a price adjustment. The price adjustment effective from August 1, 2021, refers to BPH Migas Regulation Number 14 of 2021 dated May 19, 2021.

"Price adjustments are also implemented in several regions in Indonesia with an adjustment value equivalent to that applied in the city of Surabaya", he said.

Arief is also detailed that the price adjustment consisted of Household-1 (RT-1) IDR 4,250/m3, Household-2 (RT-2) IDR6,000/m3, Small Customer-1 (PK-1) IDR 4,250. /m3, Small Customer-2 (PK-2) IDR 6.000/m3. This price replaces the old price, which is IDR 2,495/m for RT-1 and PK-1 customers and IDR 2,995 for RT-2 and PK-2 groups.