Lack of Energy Supply Hampers Industrial Competitiveness
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Kamis, 29 Januari 2015 12:14 WIB
Pekerja melintas di depan terminal Liquid Propane Gas (LNG) milik Bosowa Corporindo yang baru diresmikan di Kawasan Industri Makassar, Sabtu (21/12). TEMPO/Hariandi Hafid
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – The Ministry of Industry noted that the competitiveness of the national manufacturing industry is quite low due to an energy supply crisis triggered by high prices of gas and electricity for industrial consumers.
"The manufacturing industry is in desperate need for a guaranteed supply of cheap gas," said the ministry's Manufacturing Industries director general Harjanto in a meeting with the National Energy Board yesterday.
To boost the competitiveness of the national industry, Harjanto proposed pegging the price of industrial gas at a maximum of US$5 per MMBTU. The government also hopes that 15 priority industrial areas could build their own power plants, so they won't have to depend on the government, Harjanto said.
Meanwhile, industry players are asking the government to lower energy prices amid a global energy price downtrend, so that the industry can compete with other countries. Chairman of the Indonesian Cement Association, Widodo Santoso, is hoping that the declining prices of coal can make PLN lower its rates as well. "We hope the price could go down to Rp900 per kWh," he said.
