Govt Takes Rp20tn off 2015 Fuel, Electricity Subsidies
23 September 2014 14:12 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The government and the House of Representatives' (DPR) Budget Committee cut nearly Rp20 trillion off the subsidy budget for fuel and electricity in 2015 "We have agreed on a fuel subsidy number," the committee's deputy chairman tamsil Linrung said after a meeting in the Parliament Complex, Jakarta, yesterday.
LPG and fuel subsidy for next year is pegged at Rp276 trillion, down from the initial proposal of Rp291.1 trillion in the 2015 state budget draft. Fuel subsidy is set at Rp194.2 trillion, with a quota of 46 million kiloliters, while the 3-kg LPG subsidy is pegged at Rp55.1 trillion for a quota of 5.7 million tons.
Electricity subsidy is agreed at Rp68.7 trillion, down from the Rp 72.4 trillion set in 2015 state budget draft. Thus, next year's energy subsidy amounts to Rp344.7 trillion, smaller than the original design of Rp363.5 trillion.
Deputy Finance Minister Bambang Brodjonegoro said these assumptions will change if the exchange rate changes. In yesterday's meeting, the currency rate assumption is set at Rp11,900 per US dollar, while the ICP is pegged at US$105 per barrel. Bambang said the government must prepare a fiscal cushion for when the global market hits possible turmoil.
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