Jokowi wants a better balance of payment
Published on: Tuesday, November 23, 2021
By: Tempo Indonesia
JAKARTA: President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has said he wants to improve the country’s balance of payment, which has remained under pressure for many years due to high oil imports.To that end, the use of electric cars and stoves must be encouraged to reduce oil and gas needs, he said.
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“If we are able to switch to other energy, for instance, replacing all cars with electric ones, and household gas with electricity due to PLN’s power oversupply, then Pertamina’s oil imports will decline,” the President said in directives to the boards of commissioners and directors of state electricity company PT PLN at the Presidential Palace.
By optimizing the use of electric power from PLN, the issue of electric power supply can be resolved and oil imports will decline accordingly, he explained.
If oil imports decline, this will have a positive impact on the country’s current account and balance of payment, he pointed out.
“The great goal is that the country will receive gain in the form of (surplus in) the balance of payment, which has remained unsolved for tens of years now because our oil imports are very large,” Jokowi noted.
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President Jokowi also urged PLN to prepare for an energy transition from fossil fuel to environmentally friendly or green energy.
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