Draft Government Regulation on Cross-Border Electricity Transactions

Although the fate of Law No. 30 of 2009 on Electricity (“Electricity Law”) rests with the Constitutional Court, the government’s confidence that it will not be revoked under judicial review was suggested by beginning to formulate an implementing Government Regulation on Inter-State Electricity Sales and Purchases, with statements that it could be released as early as September this year.

That much was confirmed by Sutisna Prawira, the Head of the Law and Public Relations Bureau for the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, on Monday in Jakarta: “The target is in September,” he told Investor Daily; “We are currently having an inter-departmental discussion [on the Government Regulation].”

Until now, continued Mr. Prawira, there has not been any regulation regarding the purchase or sale of electricity from abroad; not only will the coming Government Regulation implement Article 41 of the Electricity Law, then, it will also give legal basis and certainty to anyone carrying out cross-border electricity transactions.

Though the current Draft Government Regulation has not yet been circulated to hukumonline, it is also expected that the document will further relate to Articles 37 to 40 of the Electricity Law, which pertain to the requirements of cross-border electricity transactions.

This Indonesian Legal Brief is based upon research conducted by the hukumonline team.

For a brief overview of the Electricity Law, see ILB No. 1184 9/9/2009.