VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Screenshot—President Joko Widodo opens National Culture Week 2021 on Friday (November 19, 2021). (ANTARA/Indriani/aa) - 

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has said he wants to improve the country's balance of payment, which has remained under pressure for many years due to high oil imports.

To that end, the use of electric cars and stoves must be encouraged to reduce oil and gas needs, he said.

“If we are able to switch to other energy, for instance, replacing all cars with electric ones, and household gas with electricity due to PLN’s power oversupply, then Pertamina’s oil imports will decline,” the President said in directives to the boards of commissioners and directors of state electricity company PT PLN at the Presidential Palace in Bogor, West Java, on Tuesday, streamed on the Youtube channel of the Presidential Secretariat on Saturday.

By optimizing the use of electric power from PLN, the issue of electric power supply can be resolved and oil imports will decline accordingly, he explained.

If oil imports decline, this will have a positive impact on the country’s current account and balance of payment, he pointed out.

“The great goal is that the country will receive gain in the form of (surplus in) the balance of payment, which has remained unsolved for tens of years now because our oil imports are very large,” Jokowi noted.

The decline in oil imports will also enable state oil and gas company Pertamina to reduce its dollar needs in the money market, allowing the rupiah’s exchange rate to strengthen, he said.

If the rupiah’s exchange rate strengthens due to a steady decline in imports, the Indonesian economy will fundamentally become more resilient and competitive, he added.

President Jokowi also urged PLN to prepare for an energy transition from fossil fuel to environmentally friendly or green energy.

“This is urgent. It must set a target, for instance, for 2022, since (in 2021 there) is still one month left. For instance, to produce 5 thousand megawatts of electrical power in 2022, it can switch from coal to hydropower, geothermal energy, or solar panel,” he said.

The energy transition from fossil energy to green energy must be done by all sides, including PLN and Pertamina, he added.

"For the better interests, for our children and grandchildren, energy transition to green energy is inevitable,” he said//ANT