Refleksi : Taktik kenaikan harga listrik hanya untuk orang berada, tidak lain dari pada meninabobokan opini mayoritas penduduk yang berpendapatan rendah dan miskin. Tidak dinaikan harga listrik untuk orang miskin bukan berarti tidak akan dinaikan. Jangka waktu berlakunya tidak dinaikan harga listrik ini akan berumur pendek. Hal ini karena keuntungan optimal perusahaan listrik tidak dapat dicapai hanya dari konsumen golongan kaya. Bukankah dalam struktur penduduk menurut pendapatan di NKRI yang kaya sangat sedikit jumlahnya, sedangkan yang miskin melarat adalah mayoritas. Jadi mayoritas yang miskin melarat ini sangat dibutuhkan untuk turut menymbangkan keuntungan perusahan tenaga listrik. Dengan lain kata harga listrik untuk mereka ini juga harus dinaikan.
http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/business/poorest-indonesians-spared-pain-from-power-price-hike/380725 June 15, 2010 Reva Sasistiya Wealthier residents and commercial customers will see their rates rise by up to 18 percent starting July 1 after the government agreed to the state-owned PLN electricity company's price hikes, but lower income households will not be affected. Poorest Indonesians Spared Pain from Power Price Hike More than three-quarters of Indonesian households have been spared the additional burden of higher electricity prices, but wealthier residents and commercial customers will see their rates rise by up to 18 percent starting July 1 after the House of Representatives approved a rate hike request from the state electricity monopoly on Tuesday. House Commission VII, which oversees energy issues and has authority over rate hikes, capped off months of debate with seven hours of heated argument over who should pay, and how much, to help PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara ( PLN) increase revenue and develop the country's aging electricity generation infrastructure. The poorest residential consumers, with installed capacity of 450 and 900 voltage-ampere, will be exempt from paying higher rates. That includes an estimated 31 million households. But about 5.9 million affluent households will pay up to 18 percent more, while commercial customers will pay 12 percent to 16 percent more. Industrial users will pay 6 percent to 15 percent more and government offices 15 percent to 18 percent more. The rate increases are expected to generate an additional Rp 4.8 trillion ($523.2 million) of income for PLN in the rest of this year alone. PLN has suffered losses for years because the government forces it to sell electricity at below its generation costs. The result has been high subsidy bills for the government - Rp 56 trillion last year alone - and a woefully inadequate power infrastructure due to a lack of investment by PLN. The state-owned electricity company has embarked on a major expansion of its generating capacity that calls for an investment of $7.6 billion a year through 2018. The last time it raised rates was 2003. Nevertheless, some lawmakers on Tuesday argued against any rate increase, questioning whether PLN actually needed the subsidy, and demanding that it demonstrate greater efficiency. Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) lawmaker Ismayatun said that her party rejected the tariff hike as there has not yet been any audit of PLN's financial report. "We question the accuracy of PLN's financial reports, since we do not know how much PLN really needs the subsidy," she said. In response, the government pledged to audit PLN's books. Daryatmo Mardiyanto, another PDI-P lawmaker, said the government should simply increase the subsidy it pays to PLN every year. "When people are in need, the government is putting a heavier burden on them," he said. "It is better to inject more subsidies rather than to make the people pay." Tulus Abadi, chairman of the Indonesian Consumer Protection Foundation (YLKI), said the decision to raise rates would not affect most consumers. "In general, it won't have a dire effect because electricity only accounts for a small portion of expenses in households as well as in the business and industry sectors," he said. "As for industry in general, the increase will not have a significant impact because electricity only accounts for 5 to 10 percent of total production costs," Tulus said. However, this is not the case for the textile industry where electricity accounts for 19 to 25 percent of total production costs, according to Ernovian Ismy, secretary general of the Indonesian Textiles Association (API). "Raising the tariff will lead to the weakening of our competitiveness. This is not the proper way to settle energy issues," Ernovian said. He said that textile companies generally operate 24 hours a day, and the increase would force companies to raise prices in order to make up for the increased production costs, and could result in layoffs. "The main problem is that the government lacks the vision of a national energy policy. It needs to focus on meeting domestic electricity needs," Ernovian said. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
