Anticipating The Migration Of Pertamax Users To Pertalite, Members Of Commission VII Ask Pertamina To Observe BBM Stocks

Pertamina has prepared a quota for Pertalite. (photo: twitter @pertamina)

JAKARTA - Member of Commission VII DPR RI Mulyanto asked Pertamina to pay close attention to the stock of fuel oil (BBM) in order to meet the needs of travelers who travel out of town during the Eid period.

Mulyanto also said, with the increase in the price of Pertamax, the migration of Pertamax users to Pertalite is very possible.

"So there are two driving factors for the increase in Pertalite consumption, namely the increase in the number of travelers using private vehicles and the migration of Pertamax users to Pertalite," he said, quoted from Antara, May 1.

Previously, the Ministry of Transportation estimated that in 2022, around 85 million people will return to various regions. For this reason, Mulyanto added, this spike in the number of homecomers increased because during the previous two years there had been no homecoming activities due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"In terms of vehicle types, as many as 47 percent of homecomers are expected to use private cars or motorbikes instead of using public transportation," said Mulyanto.

For this reason, he continued, Pertamina must be able to make the distribution process to all gas stations on the homecoming route safe and sufficiently available. BPH Migas estimates that the need for gasoline during the current period has the potential to increase by approximately 5 percent during the Eid homecoming period.

Meanwhile, the distribution case for Pertamina in West Java, which includes Banten, DKI Jakarta and West Java, reported an increase in gasoline consumption of more than 20 percent.

The Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources also conveyed the same thing when conducting inspections at several gas stations at the Palikanci Rest Area KM 207 A, Palimanan Kanci Toll Road, Cirebon Regency and SPBU 34,451.06 - Ciperna KM 7 last Thursday, April 28.

Responding to the overcrowding and preventing fuel shortages, Arifin asked that the fuel supply at gas stations be 60 percent of the existing capacity, plus a fuel car that is always on standby to supply fuel.

"The gas stations are kept full, a minimum of 60 percent of the tank must be filled, of course coupled with additional strengthening of supply cars (mobile storage). I ask that these supply cars be fully filled so that they can be distributed to places where they are needed," Arifin explained.

Not only that, a subsidiary of PT Jasa Marga (Persero) Tbk., PT Jasamarga Related Business (JMRB), which manages Rest Area Travoy on the Jasa Marga Group toll road, added a Modular gas station to ensure the availability of fuel in the rest area.

General Manager of Operational Planning and Control of PT JMRB Meta Herlina explained that PT JMRB has coordinated with PT Pertamina (Persero) to maintain fuel stock at gas stations rest area of the Jasa Marga Group toll road.

In addition, Meta said to anticipate congestion and queues at gas stations, modular gas stations were operated in a number of rest areas during the homecoming and return event for Eid 1443 H/2022.

"We have also collaborated with Pertamina to operate modular gas stations in 16 rest areas on toll roads managed by the Jasa Marga Group," he said in Jakarta, Friday, April 29.

Furthermore, Meta explained that the modular gas stations will be placed in type B rest areas that do not have gas stations, functional rest areas, and type A rest areas that have the potential to build up.

This modular gas station, Meta said, will operate from April 22, 2022 to May 11, 2022. There are also rest areas on the Jasa Marga Group toll road where there are modular gas stations including Rest Area KM 33 A Jakarta-Cikampek; Rest Area KM 52 B Jakarta-Cikampek; Rest Area KM 207 A Palimanan-Kanci; Rest Area KM 379 A Batang-Semarang; Rest Area KM 391 A Batang-Semarang; Rest Area KM 519 A Solo-Ngawi.