Considered Slow, KPK Asks Ministry Of Energy And Mineral Resources And PLN To Check Electricity Subsidy Recipients

KPK Deputy Prevention Pahala Nainggolan/ Antara

JAKARTA - The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) asked the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM), as well as the Directors of the State Electricity Company (PLN) to examine the data on electricity subsidy recipients.

"We ask the ESDM Ministry and PLN directors to speed up data matching because there are 52,000 450 VA and 900 VA customers known to have multiple connections, it's impossible for these poor people to be," said KPK Deputy Prevention Pahala Nainggolan at a press conference at the KPK building, Jakarta, reported by Antara, Wednesday, August 18.

In 2021, the government is known to provide electricity subsidies for 32.6 million households with 450 VA and 900 VA electricity customers worth a total of Rp. 9.49 trillion.

For 450 VA customers, they will be given a 100 percent electricity discount in January - March 2021 and in April - September 2021, they will be given a 50 percent discount.

Meanwhile, 900 VA household customers in January - March 2021 are given a 50 percent discount while in April - September 2921 they will get 25 percent.

According to Pahala, in 2020 the KPK has provided recommendations to the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources and PLN directors to match it with the Population Identification Number (NIK) and the Ministry of Social's Integrated Social Welfare Data (DTKS) to ensure that the recipients of electricity subsidies are really poor people.

"But progress is very slow, so from 76 million PLN customers, as many as 32.6 million are 450 VA and 900 VA customers who get subsidized assistance, but now only 8 million customers have NIK. DTKS," said Pahala. Pahala also asked PLN to immediately perform data matching.

"So the KPK's suggestion is that people who receive subsidies are right, so it's impossible for those who have multiple connections to be categorized as poor, but the problem is that PLN records that customers have been around for a long time and some don't have NIK," said Pahala.