KONTAN.CO.ID-JAKARTA. The government and PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) signed a 2024 electricity subsidy contract worth IDR 75.83 trillion on Thursday (14/3). 

The Director General of Budget at the Ministry of Finance, Isa Rachmatarwata, said that the signing of this energy subsidy contract is expected to increase the commitment between the Government and Business Entities in serving the community to be able to access energy at affordable prices, especially for the poor and vulnerable and certain micro-scale business sectors.

“This subsidy has always been important for our country, because with subsidies, the government can indeed be present directly for the community and help the community face price fluctuations, supply availability, and so on,” Isa explained in an official statement, Thursday (14/3). 

Isa detailed that the budget for the 2024 electricity subsidy is IDR 75.83 trillion, which consists of the current year's electricity subsidy budget of IDR 73.24 trillion and the underpayment budget of the 2022 fiscal year electricity subsidy of IDR 2.58 trillion.

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“This is not a small number and we want to ensure that it falls to the right parties. That means, those who are entitled to receive the subsidy are the ones who should actually receive the subsidized goods,” said Isa.

Isa also hopes that PLN can distribute this subsidy accurately. 

PLN President Director Darmawan Prasodjo said, the provision of this energy subsidy is very important to realize equal energy access in accordance with the embodiment of the fifth principle of Pancasila.

“The budget allocation for this subsidy is very touching, the fifth principle of Pancasila, which is social justice for all Indonesian people, is not just writing on paper, but is realized in a real form,” revealed Darmawan.

Darmawan added that PLN is committed to realizing the subsidy from the government accurately, namely for the group of household electricity customers with a power of 450 Volt Ampere (VA) and some power of 900 VA, as well as small business and industry customers up to a power of 5,500 VA. 

“We distribute the subsidy by name and by address for recipients who really need it from the less fortunate community and small business actors so it is very accurate,” explained Darmawan.

PLN's efforts with the government are a manifestation of commitment in reducing economic pressure, especially for the less fortunate community and small businesses that really need assistance.

"PLN is ready to realize the subsidy from the Government for the less fortunate community and UMK business actors. In accordance with the direction of the Minister of Finance, every rupiah spent by PLN must be really ensured for the interests of the people," he said. 

PLN also expressed appreciation for the timely payment of electricity subsidies to the company, thus supporting the sustainability of the company's business. 

“We also express our gratitude to the Government, in this case the Ministry of Finance, which also plays a role in supervising and overseeing financial governance at PLN, especially in the distribution of subsidies,” he revealed.

Editor: Syamsul Azhar