Data on Recipients of Fuel and Electricity Subsidies as well as Cash Assistance Will Be Announced in December 2024

Jakarta – The Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) Bahlil Lahadalia said that the scheme for distributing subsidized fuel is still being worked on. One of the plans is through a blending scheme, by continuing to provide direct fuel subsidies for certain groups while transitioning the subsidies to direct cash assistance. (BLT).

Bahlil stated that the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) is currently compiling data on potential recipients of cash assistance to replace fuel subsidies. This process is necessary because the government does not want the conversion of fuel subsidies to be misdirected.

The target is that all data on which groups are entitled to receive subsidized fuel and BLT recipients will be announced in December 2024. This includes data on electricity subsidy recipients.

“God willing, this month, everything (diumumkan). “But later we will report to the President first, what the President’s directive is, then we will announce it officially,” said Bahlil during the Indonesia Mining Summit 2024 event at Hotel Mulia, Jakarta, Wednesday (12/4/2024).

However, he could not yet confirm whether the allocation of this subsidy would be redirected more towards direct commodities or to cash transfers (BLT). “Later, after it is decided, we will announce it,” Bahlil added.

However, Bahlil predicts that all MSME actors will later be categorized as consumers entitled to directly receive subsidized fuel, not in the form of cash transfers. This includes online motorcycle taxi drivers, or ojol.

“Regarding MSMEs, all MSMEs will most likely be subsidized in terms of materials. So if it’s fuel, we will not convert it to cash assistance. Online motorcycle taxi drivers will fall under the MSME category,” he stated.

However, Bahlil raised concerns about the vehicles of ojol drivers that have black license plates. Therefore, further testing is needed to ensure that ojol can still access subsidized fuel along with vehicles that have yellow license plates.

“For the ojol that is currently experiencing dynamics, we are in the process of exercising how to distinguish which black plates belong to ojol businesses and which do not.” “But for the ojol, they are MSMEs. It was just misinterpreted yesterday,” he said.