Jakarta – The government will issue a presidential regulation on new and renewable energy (NRE) electricity tariffs this week, Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) officials said Wednesday (14/9). The presidential regulation will also regulate special geothermal prices in Java.
ESDM Director General of New, Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation (EBTKE) Dadan Kusdiana told reporters at the 8th Indonesia International Geothermal Convention and Exhibition 2022 that he guarantees the regulation will be issued this week. He said the president has signed the regulation and the regulation will officially be issued pending certain formalities.
Kusdiana said geothermal prices are one of the most crucial regulations. “Geothermal can be beneficial, especially geothermal projects in Java. It is given a ceiling price, the economy (makes sense),” he said.
Director of Geothermal at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Harris Yahya said that the selling price of geothermal electricity for Java was set not to be higher than the cost of production (BPP) in the previous regulation. This is detrimental for geothermal business actors because they have to compete with coal that has very cheap prices.
“Geothermal prices in Java are valued at 100% BPP. In this new presidential regulation it will not be based on (BPP), but on capacity. So, the highest value is USD 0.97 per kWh for capacities up to 5 MW, so the larger the capacity, the lower the price. USD 0.97 is the highest benchmark price, there will be negotiations there with PLN,” he said.
Yahya said USD 0.97 is not the final price because there is also a multiplier factor for each region, with Java being the base value. “We are very optimistic about the price mechanism in the new presidential regulation, because stability is more clearly guaranteed,” he said. (Hartatik)
Banner photo: Pertamina President Director, Nicke Widyawati listens to the explanation of Pertamina Geothermal Energy (PGE) Lahendong Area Maintenance Manager, Fairuz Noor about geothermal production from wells at the 500 kW Binary Cycle Geothermal Power Plant (PLTP) in June 2022. (Photo: Hartatik)
