Each time there was plan to increase oil price, there was bound to be
outburst, uproars, turmoils and polemics and even threatening demonstrations;
not to mention political maneuvers whether supportive or rejection to the plan.
Basically increase of price subsidized oil could not be refused if the
government wished to keep state’s budget from swelling due to oil subsidy which
increase time after time. Somehow to increase oil price remained to be
unpopular among the people. Moreover the timing was regarded as inappropriate
as it coincided with student’s holiday season and Idul Fitri festivity when
price tend so soar high with or without oil price increase.
What the government must ponder was that the need for energy from oil
fuel would increase time after time. The case of oil subsidy was in fact only a
small portion of energy issues as whole since basically the world’s oil
reserves was thinning out.
It was most disheartening if all the uproars never made the government
realize the urgency of exploring alternative energy resources. The effort to
seek for alternative energy was always edged aside by political turmoils, i.e.
politicizing the oil fuel issue for mere short term interest.
Supposedly when this nation was busily debating to increase price of
subsidized oil, all should be remained that the issue of alternative energy was
an urgent need, at least in the form of regulation. The government already had
Presidential Regulation no. 5 /2006 on National Energy Policy. So all it takes
was to follow up the policy with regulations on alternative energy as breakdown
of the Presidential Regulation.
But why is it that the government and all the related parties seemed
reluctant to finalize the regulation? It was reckoned that there was hidden
motivation to seek for higher returns in prioritizing the kind of energy.
Investors tend to develop fossil-based energy as the yield was of greater
magnitude. Certainty of regulation in the fossil energy sector would make
budgeting easier. The result was that the government was more tempted to invest
in fossil energy projects while ignoring development effort of renewable
energy.
The government’s half-hearted support to renewable energy protect finally
made the protect development seem to be losing steam. Not a single investors
was interested: even state owned enterprise [BUMN].and yet for the long run,
the use of renewable energy would be indispensable. It was about time to
abandon the concept of short term profit and change to long term profit of the
energy of tomorrow.
If the government were serious about securing national energy system,
the development of alternative energy was the answer. Today national energy
consumption was still relying on oil [49.7%], coal [24.5%] and gas [21.1%]. And
yet as targeted by 2025 the portion of renewable energy would be 23% beside use
of other alternative energy.
In fact the government knew very well that alternative energy resources
were abundant in Indonesia; but the target would remain paperwork unless
supported by serious government support. Apparently the Ministry of Finance as
Government’s representation did not allocate any special budget for developing
future energy. The reason was that the budget for such had been managed by the
related ministries.
Word was out that budget for infra structure in alternative energy
development had been distributed by the government to the respective ministries
or institutions. The development of alternative energy itself was under the
authority of the ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources. So it was almost
certain that allocated fund for developing alternative energy resources was not
specifically included in APBN-P 2013 budget, but there was a sum of money
allocated for such at the ministry of energy and mineral resources.
About continuity of national energy policy, the government was still
lifting oil production for next year. In RAPBN-P 2013budget it was agreed that
the government had targeted lifting of oil to 840,000 barrel per day but for
next year lifting of oil production was set at 1 million barrel of oil per day,
provided that there was still plentiful oil reserves.
Rumors had it that the government and the Ministry of Energy and Mineral
Resources [ESDM] had been coordinating to manage development of alternative
energy. However, the development was more on geo-thermal energy and solar
energy, the budget for this year alone had come to Rp100 trillion. This
ministry of finance was not in a position the allocate more budget, moreover if
the renewable energy could not produce electricity any cheaper than 7-8 cent
Kwh.
So far the price of electricity from PLN had always been above 10
cent/Kwh. It there was no renewable energy which could offer price any lower
than the, the government would not allocate any budget for it. In that case
supposedly the government through the ministry of ESDM had the initiative to
make a breakthrough so the development of alternative energy could be executed
with support of the APBN State Budget.
It seemed useless if the government make any excuses if they were
basically not interest in making any breakthrough. It should be borne in mind
that for long this nation had been a net importer of the world’s refined oil.
Supposedly there was a will power to change the status from net importer to net
exporter of energy whereby to make forex reserves for the nation. Perhaps
Indonesia had to wait for future change administration which was
pro-alternative energy so all the ambitions could be realized. (SS)
Business News - June 28,2013
No comments:
Post a Comment