JAKARTA – Natural gas is recognized as having a strategic role in development, especially in the energy sector and national industry. The utilization of natural gas for domestic needs in the future is estimated to continue to increase as the economy grows. Maryati Abdullah, National Coordinator for Publish What You Pay Indonesia said, the increase is in line with national energy and industrial policies for domestic needs. The utilization of natural gas as a primary energy source is at least an alternative option with relatively lower emissions than coal and petroleum.

“The increasing use of natural gas is also in line with the national energy mix policy which targets gas use by 22% in 2025, 23% in 2030 and 24% in 2050,” he said in Jakarta, Tuesday (15/1/2019).

He said that more than 40% of the national gas production is currently still being exported. Maryati explained, although the policy has directed towards prioritizing gas for domestic needs, the actual use of gas for the electricity sector since 2009 has tended to be smaller than the existing contracts due to limited infrastructure.

“The high price of gas and the existence of other sources of commodities such as oil and coal are considered more competitive prices than natural gas. This includes the factor of a decrease in electricity load in several regions, “he said.

For the industrial sector, Maryati conveyed, the actual use of natural gas fluctuates due to the influence of gas prices which have an impact on the competitive value of goods. In addition, gas supply fell due to the natural decline in gas production.

“Meanwhile, in the fertilizer sector, the actual use of natural gas tends to be stable because it is a long-term contract. There are complaints that the high price of gas causes the low competitiveness of the fertilizer industry compared to other countries,” she concluded.

 

Civil Society Coalition

“Our focus is to guard development planning to make it more responsive so that the gap between policymakers and the community can get closer. PWYP is a civil society coalition with more than 30 organizations for transparency and accountability of extractive resources, “he said.

Regarding the momentum of the Central Java RPJMD, which is currently being discussed at the Central Java DPRD special committee, it is targeted for completion in February. Addressing the issue is important because the RPJMD is the basis for the implementation of the 2015 Central Java Provincial Government program. Disaster problems are also guarded in the RPJMD because Central Java is known to be prone to disasters. Nearly three-quarters of the area is disaster-prone. The budget allocation must be prepared, for disaster mitigation. The group was met by the Chief Editor of Suara Merdeka, Gunawan Permadi, accompanied by his deputies, Agus Toto Widyatmoko and Triyanto Triwikromo.

Agus Toto said Suara Merdeka’s long journey has reached 69 years. In the era of disruption, Suara Merdeka also made adjustments by creating social media channels and online media.

There is also the Suara Merdeka Institute (SMI), a writing training educational institution. Meanwhile, Triyanto emphasized that as a print media with the largest reader base in Central Java, Suara Merdeka responded positively to the plan to hold a PWYP and Suara Merdeka discussion regarding the Central Java Provincial Government’s policy which is preparing the issuance of regional bonds worth Rp 1.2 trillion. This discussion is very useful for people who want to know a lot about regional bonds. (J17-64)

 

Source: Suara Merdeka