Highlighting The Increase In Elpiji Gas Prices, Members Of Commission VII DPR Value The Government Has Not Been Able To Ensure The Distribution Of Gas Subsidies Is Right On Target

Illustration. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - The government through PT Pertamina Patra Niaga has raised the price of non-subsidized LPG with a 21 percent increase from the average Aramco Contract Price (CPA) price throughout 2021. In response, member of Commission VII DPR RI Diah Nurwitasari assessed that the government never had a plan to take precautions so that LPG gas subsidies are right on target.

According to him, not all users of non-subsidized LPG belong to the upper middle class. However, there are also many Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), such as restaurants, micro food industries, and so on that use non-subsidized LPG.

He regretted the government's decision, even though the comparison between subsidized and non-subsidized LPG is 93 percent versus 7 percent.

"Well, if (non-subsidized LPG) goes up, they will be affected, in fact later they switch to subsidized LPG. That means, the government only relies on the supervisory function," Diah explained in a written statement, Monday, March 14.

According to him, if there is a shift in the use of non-subsidized 12 kilograms of LPG to subsidized 3 kilograms of LPG, it will be even more burdensome for the state budget, which until now has had to bear the burden of oil and gas subsidies.

"In the midst of a difficult community situation, we from F-PKS deeply regret it. Due to consecutive increases (price of energy commodities), fuel prices rise, gas also increases. (prices) should not increase first, wait until the economy improves first. The community's (burden) is heavy," Diah criticized.

Diah explained, although Indonesia is one of the countries with the greatest natural gas potential in the world, in reality, millions of tons of LPG consumed by its people every day come from imports from other countries.

This happens because Indonesia does not have the technology and infrastructure to process raw materials into LPG that is ready for use.

"So millions of tons of LPG are imported, because even though our natural gas potential is large, only a few can be directly converted into LPG. Because to change it requires its own technology and infrastructure and we don't have that," said the legislator for the West Java II electoral district (dapil).

Therefore, he asked the government not to depend on imported supplies forever. However, it must also start to do serious business mitigation on the processing of existing natural resources, so that they can be used to meet domestic LPG gas needs.

“I thought that when the government transferred from kerosene to LPG, the people did not know that it was an import. Now when international prices are high, we have to be affected," he concluded

For your information, as of March 1, 2022, the government has officially increased the price of non-subsidized LPG. This price increase varies in several places. For LPG, 5.5 kilograms and 12 kilograms. With the increase, the current non-subsidized LPG price is around Rp. 15,000 per kilogram.