LPG Prices Rise, Government Suggests To Issue Regulations For Conversion Of Gas Stoves To Electric Stoves

Electric stove. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - Public Policy Observer Agus Pambagyo advises the government to reduce the fiscal impact due to the increase in liquefield petroleum gas (LPG) commodity prices. One way is to publish rules for converting electric stoves.

"The government can choose the electric stove conversion policy to reduce the fiscal impact, so that it can reduce the fiscal burden due to LPG imports," Agus said in a statement quoted by Antara, Monday, February 28.

However, Agus explained, the conversion of electric stoves needs to be clarified with government regulations. The reason is, if the conversion is only done willingly, it is predicted that the program will be difficult to implement.

"The language, transfer or conversion must be by force or through regulations. If it is voluntary, when will it be completed?" he added.

Referring to the conversion of kerosene to gas stoves, a regulation at the level of a Presidential Regulation is required. At that time, the government issued Presidential Regulation No. 104 of 2007 concerning the supply, distribution, and pricing of three-kilogram LPG cylinders.

Agus added that regulations at the level of a Presidential Regulation make it easier to implement and coordinate considering that the implementation of conversion regulations is not just one sector.

The geopolitical conflict between Russia and Ukraine has also triggered an increase in world LPG prices which has an impact on the national economy considering that Indonesia is an LPG importing country.

If this condition is allowed to increase the amount of subsidies in the State Revenue and Expenditure Budget (APBN), which widens the trade balance deficit, a long-term solution is needed to solve this problem, one of which is the conversion of LPG stoves to electric stoves.

Agus further said that the government could evaluate and issue policies to respond to the condition of soaring LPG prices through an economic calculation approach.

"The evaluation should not use political calculations. We know that oil and gas prices have a tendency to rise for some time, from there (the mitigation) can actually be calculated," he explained.