REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- The government has included several policies on electricity incentives for industries in its third phase of the economic policy package, according to Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Sudirman Said.
"In the newly issued economic policy package, the government provides three types of incentives in the electricity sector. The first incentive is in the form of an adjusted electricity tariff cut, which will be based on the developments of the Indonesian Crude Price (ICP), rupiah exchange rate, and inflation rate. If these variables fluctuate, there will be an adjustment in the electricity tariff," Said stated here on Wednesday.
He said based on the average developments over the past three months, there has been a 2.6 percent decline in the electricity tariff, which will automatically and regularly experience adjustments.
"The second incentive is a 30 percent discount for industries operating between 11 p.m. and 8 a.m. local time. There are several companies that operate with mechanics, and they depend heavily on machinery and less on workers. If they increase their production capacity during the night time, they will get a 30 percent discount on the normal electricity tariff," the minister pointed out.
Said remarked that the government will therefore encourage machinery-based industries to increase their production capacity at night when the power load is low. To this end, the state-owned electricity company PLN will provide a discount of 30 percent on the normal tariff.
According to the minister, the third incentive for industries is a policy on the payment of arrears related to electricity bills. The PLN will allow the payment of 60 percent of the electricity bill in the current year and the remaining 40 percent to be paid as an installment in the thirteenth month.
The minister noted that each decline of the ICP by US$10 per barrel will lower the electricity tariff by five percent. If the rupiah appreciates by Rp one thousand per US dollar, it will lower the electricity tariff by 2.32 percent and every one percent improvement in the inflation rate will reduce the electricity rate by 0.189 percent.