JAKARTA, July 2 (Reuters) – State electricity utility PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) will return to using adjustable electricity tariffs for non-subsidised customers in 2020 after two years of flat rates, an energy ministry official said on Tuesday.
Starting next year, PLN can adjust their electricity prices every three months for customers, such as industrial users, based on the price of oil and the rupiah exchange rate, Rida Mulyana, Director General for Electricity at the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry told reporters.
The decision to resume adjustable tariffs was made “so the burden to the state budget can be eased,” Mulyana said.
Indonesia decided to freeze the electricity tariff in 2017 amid sluggish consumption growth. That led to a policy of capping thermal coal prices for power generation at $70 per tonne to help PLN manage costs. (reut.rs/2oXIy2m)
Mulyana said the government has not yet decided whether the price cap on coal sold to power companies will also be changed next year.
At the time the coal price cap policy was announced in March 2018, officials said it would be reviewed in December 2019.
