Government Mulls Plan to Increase Premium Fuel Price
31 July 2015 10:48 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Directorate General of Oil and Gas, Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) has prepared a number of schemes to increase the price of subsidized fuel, so-called Premium, in August this year, reports said Thursday, July 30, 2015.
“We’re just reviewing the technical aspects [of the price]. The social aspects would be leader’s policy,” IGN Wiratmadja, director general of oil and gas at the ESDM Ministry told Bisnis on Thursday, July 30, 2015.
According to Wiratmadja, the price change scheme is based on the the price evaluation period.
Based on their quarterly evaluation, the economic price of Premium in August would stood at 8,850 per litter with rupiah’s exchange rate of Rp 13,091 per US dollar. Meanwhile, the price will increase to Rp 8,600 based on the four-month period evaluation.
If the Premium price is to be evaluated on a semester basis, the price in August will be set at Rp 8,200 per liter with an assumption that rupiah’s exchange rate would stood at Rp 12,989 per US dollar.
The ESDM Ministry admitted that Pertamina had suffered a total losses of Rp 12 trillion (US$923 million) since prices of Premium and subsidized diesel fuel, so called Solar, had been maintained. To prevent further losses next year, the ESDM ministry has mulled the mechanism to stabilize the fuel prices.
To this date, ESDM Minister Sudirman Said has yet provided comments on the plan to increase the Premium price.
BISNIS.COM