Jakarta, Oct 10 (Antara) -- Businesses belonging to the Indonesian Young Entrepreneurs Association (HIPMI) welcomed the government policy providing electricity incentives for industries.
"The government's third tranche economic policy package, which covers electricity incentives with a tariff cut, is very helpful to businesspeople in the industrial sector," HIPMI Chairman for Trade, Industry and State-owned Enterprises Ian Dafy Fachry said on Friday.
According to Fachry, the lowering of the basic electricity tariff will have direct impacts on the nation's industries, while the reduction in diesel oil prices will have indirect benefits.
"We cannot deny that the lowering by Rp200 per liter of diesel fuel will help industries, particularly in the transportation sector. But its impact is not direct, while that of the electricity tariff will have a direct impact," he said.
Earlier, the government issued a number of policies in the electricity sector for industries, which it included in its third economic policy package.
Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Sudirman Said remarked on Wednesday that the government has provided three types of incentives in the electricity sector, including an adjusted electricity tariff cut, a 30 percent tariff discount, and installments for paying electricity bills that are in arrears.
"In the newly issued economic policy package, the government provides three types of incentives in the electricity sector. The first incentive is in the form of an adjusted electricity tariff cut, which will be based on the developments of the Indonesian Crude Price (ICP), rupiah exchange rate, and inflation rate. If these variables fluctuate, there will be an adjustment in the electricity tariff," Said stated here on Wednesday.
He said based on the average developments over the past three months, there has been a 2.6 percent decline in the electricity tariff, which will automatically and regularly experience adjustments.
"The second incentive is a 30 percent discount for industries operating between 11 p.m. and 8 a.m. local time. There are several companies that operate with mechanics, and they depend heavily on machinery and less on workers. If they increase their production capacity during the night time, they will get a 30 percent discount on the normal electricity tariff," the minister pointed out.
Said remarked that the government will therefore encourage machinery-based industries to increase their production capacity at night when the power load is low. To this end, the state-owned electricity company PLN will provide a discount of 30 percent on the normal tariff.
According to the minister, the third incentive for industries is a policy on the payment of arrears related to electricity bills. The PLN will allow the payment of 60 percent of the electricity bill in the current year and the remaining 40 percent to be paid as an installment in the thirteenth month.
"There are several industries, which due to the risk of worker layoffs, face cash flow difficulties leading to inflated electricity bills. This is a huge amount. The PLN will allow them to pay only 60 percent in the current year. They can pay in installment the remaining 40 percent in the thirteenth month from now. This will help several companies, which are facing a cash flow crunch. They are usually labor-intensive industries who face cash flow difficulties, but they have to compete," he emphasized.
The minister noted that each decline of the ICP by US$10 per barrel will lower the electricity tariff by five percent. If the rupiah appreciates by Rp one thousand per US dollar, it will lower the electricity tariff by 2.32 percent and every one percent improvement in the inflation rate will reduce the electricity rate by 0.189 percent.
State-owned Electricity Company PLN, meanwhile, said it guaranteed that the 30 percent tariff discount for industries that operate at night will remain valid for three years.
Further, the Commercial Division Head of PLN, Benny Marbun, said in Jakarta on Friday that with these incentives, his company will offer assurances for industries that intend to increase investment and purchase more production equipment.
"We will assure that the tariff cut incentive will be available for at least three years, so it will enable industries to increase investment and purchase additional means of production," Marbun explained.
PLN provides electricity tariff discounts for medium and large scale industries (with electricity capacity over 200 kVA) which operate between 11.00 p.m and 8 a.m.
He said PLN will offer a 30 percent cut for industries intending to increase their power consumption during the specified hours. The discount is part of the government¿s third economic policy package announced by the government on Wednesday (Sept 7).
Apart from the tariff discount, PLN also granted postponements in the payment of electricity bills in arrears and tariff cuts for non-subsidy customers, in accordance with the tariff adjustment scheme.
According to Benny Marbun, a tariff cut, no matter how much, will have positive and significant meaning for industries. "We received input from businessmen in industrial circles, saying that in the current economic gloom, any policy which enables industries to reduce their outward cash flows will be very helpful for industries to survive," he added.
The incentives in the electricity sector are expected to stimulate Indonesia¿s economy and prevent worker layoffs.
Currently, PLN has 12,333 industry customers using over 200 kVA. They consist of 12,256 middle-scale industries in Category I-3 with a power capacity of 200 kVA, and 79 large scale customers in Category I-4, with a power capacity of over 30,000 kVA.***3***
(A014/INE/o001)(T.A014/A/BESSR/O. Tamindael) 10-10-2015 13:56: |
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