KPK needs to Investigate EBT Mangkrak Plant

INDUSTRY.co.id - Jakarta - The Indonesian Young Entrepreneurs Association (Hipmi) wants the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) to investigate the neglected number of new and renewable energy (EBT) in some areas.

"It is better for the KPK to investigate this case because the problem of APBN is not small," said Vice Chairman Hipmi Yaser Palito in his written statement received in Jakarta yesterday.

Yaser cautioned that the Audit Agency's audit of the Audit Agency (BPK) revealed that many EBT power plants were damaged and abandoned after they were built.

According to him, the policy of EBT in the last few years is increasingly unclear, among others, because the regulator and PLN are too ambitious to build and operate their own EBT in the middle of very limited state budget.

"Planning is not mature, but programs and projects remain roads so that abandoned pascapembangunan power plant," he explained.

He argues that many of these plants are built carelessly; even there are plants that only a day operates, the next day directly damaged. Therefore, he said, many local governments are reluctant to receive the damaged power plant.

Hipmi said that since the beginning, Hipmi is of the opinion that the government does not need to build its own power plants and operate it alone, and the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources should leave it to the private sector, so the government still has enough budget to build the transmission in the regions.

"What to watch out for, the potential for other mangkraknya power plants will be enlarged, if the regulations are constantly changing and irrational in a business," Yaser said and added that many of the current regulatory products issued by the ESDM Ministry are not well thought through.

In fact, he continued, previous regulations such as Regulation of the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources No. 19 Year 2015 is very conducive for electricity investment.

Previously, Director General of Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Rida Mulyana, stated that Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Regulation No.50 of 2017 is not a reason for the delay in the development of EBT-based power plants in Indonesia.

This was conveyed by Rida in her response to the regulation allegations as the cause of the delayed development process of various EBT projects throughout Indonesia. The allegations led to the findings of the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) against 142 EBT projects worth Rp1, 17 trillion which hampered its construction.

"Candy and the obstruction of EBT project development are two different things: candy is a guide for private projects while the EBT project is hampered due to various factors, one of which is the duration of the handover to the local government," said Rida in Jakarta on Monday ( 18/12).

ESDM candy No.50 of 2017 is the revision of the Ministerial Regulation no. 12 of 2017 on the rules of utilization of EBT sources for electricity supply. This change is motivated by the effort to create a better business climate by balancing the interests of the investors and also seeking the reasonable and affordable price of electricity by the community.

The government, he added, has very open input from industry players, but the government always puts the public as the main consideration when formulating a policy.