TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Coordinating Economic Minister Chairul Tanjung denied the rumor by saying that the government would increase the fuel supply if the consumption exceeded the quota before the end of this year.
“Nobody said that [the government would increase the quota]. The quota is the government’s authority. Pertamina’s job is to execute the government’s plan,” Chairul said at his office on Friday night, August 29, 2014.
According to Chairul, the normalization of fuel distribution had to be conducted to restore the fuel supplies, instead of increasing the fuel supply. Chairul said the subsidized fuel control had caused burdens for the people.
To reduce long queues at gas stations, Chairul asked Pertamina and gas stations not to sell the subsidized fuel in large amount. However, if the effort failed to limit fuel consumption at 46 million kiloliters, Chairul suggested the new government to issue a regulation asking for additional quota.
“In the revised State Budget, there is an article saying that it is possible [to revise the fuel quota], and it must be consulted with the House of Representatives,” Chairul said.
Chairul claimed that the fuel quota would be in a safe zone before the current government completes its terms of service on October 20, 2014.
Based on the data from Pertamina, Premium and Solar daily demands are higher than the quota set in the revised State Budget. Premium average consumption reached 81,132 kiloliters per, higher than the quota set at 80,024 kiloliters. Meanwhile the average daily consumption of Solar is at 43,207 kiloliters per day, exceeding the quota set at 41,452 kiloliters per day.
JAYADI SUPRIADIN