The government, state electricity firm PT PLN and businesspeople have agreed to increase fees paid for power produced from biomass, biogas and city waste.
The government hopes this breakthrough can make investment in the sector more appealing, the new, renewable energy and energy conservation director general at the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, Kardaya Warnika, said Thursday.
According to a 2009 ministerial decree on electricity rates, PLN is obliged to buy power produced from biomass, biogas and city waste (connected to the medium voltage) at Rp 656 per kilowatt hour (kWh) in Java and Bali, Rp 787 per kWh in Sumatra and Sulawesi, Rp 853 per kWh in Kalimantan, West Nusa Tenggara and East Nusa Tenggara and Rp 984 kWh in Maluku and Papua.
For electricity connected to the low-voltage grid, the prices are Rp 1,004 per kWh in Java and Bali, Rp 1,205 per kWh in Sumatra and Sulawesi, Rp 1,305 per kWh in Kalimantan, West Nusa Tenggara and East Nusa Tenggara and Rp 1,506 in Maluku and Papua.
Under the new agreement, in Java and Bali, PLN will pay Rp 945 per kWh for power produced from biomass and biogas, Rp 1,050 per kWh for power produced from city waste using zero-waste technology and Rp 850 per kWh for power generated using landfill.
In Kalimantan, Sulawesi, West Nusa Tenggara and East Nusa Tenggara PLN will now pay Rp 1,170, Rp 1,260 and Rp 1,020 per kWh. Meanwhile, in Maluku and Papua, PLN has agreed to pay Rp 1,267.5, Rp 1,365 and Rp 1,105 per kWh.
“The price change will be included into the revision of the 2009 ministerial decree on electricity rates,” Kardaya said during a discussion at his office in Jakarta.
