Indonesia Must Implement Long-Term Programs to Avoid Energy Crisis

 
Christina Desy, Kartini Laras Makmur
 
As a country with abundant energy reserves spread out across the nation, it is ironic that Indonesia is facing a crisis over its energy stock. Even more significant, it is predicted Indonesia will exhaust all of its fossil energy in just a decade from now.
 
Faisal Basri, politician and economist, reaffirmed that energy supply and demand in Indonesia are still dominated by fossil fuels. The use of renewable energy such as biofuels remains marginal. More broadly than the energy stock issue, he says that the pressing problems in Indonesian energy sector are actually due to a number of other causes.
 
“The problems in this sector are a lack of legal certainty, complicated bureaucratic processes, uncoordinated inter-sector cooperation, and speculation by energy mafia,” said Mr. Basri on Tuesday.
 
All of these obstacles increase investor reluctance to invest in Indonesia. Moreover, the Indonesian decentralization system prolongs the negotiation process for energy procurement which hampers the realization of projects in Indonesia. The delay in energy projects, such as oil and gas projects in Natuna and Asahan, has resulted in an increased deficit in energy stocks in Indonesia.
 
Vice President Boediono admitted that the numerous challenges facing the energy sector have led the government to only focus on tackling short-term energy needs. The Vice President is concerned that this pattern will further endanger Indonesian’s energy stocks. Given these circumstances, he expects the new administration to start establishing long-term policies that will secure energy supplies until at least 2030.
 
Catering to these concerns, a discussion was held last August in Bandung, which was attended by representatives from the government, political parties, state-owned enterprises, corporates, academics, and public organizations.
 
The discussion covered current issues as well as potential issues in the energy sector that are likely to arise in the future, covering diverse matters from climate change, ineffective legal frameworks, power wars between central and regional governments, and of course, the possibility of a global energy disturbance.
 
The result of the discussion was a document titled “Bandung Scenario: Sketch of Indonesian Energy in 2030” (Skenario Bandung: Sketsa Energi Indonesia 2030), responses to which will be dealt with through four differing scenarios, namely Skenario Ombak, Skenario Badai, Skenario Karang, and Skenario Awak. Welcoming these scenarios, the Vice President sees them as media to gather and unify stakeholders’ opinions and encourage all of them to give more attention to these pressing issues.
 
Kuntoro Mangkusbroto, Head of the President’s Delivery Unit for Development Monitoring and Oversight (UKP4), described the Bandung Scenario as a guideline to overcome future challenges for the Indonesian energy sector.
 
“The year 2030 was determined as the time limit because that year is predicted to be a critical year for Indonesia in satisfying its domestic energy demands,” Mr. Mangkusubroto added.
 
As one of the scenario drafters, Mr. Mangkusubroto strictly emphasized that the Bandung Scenario is not a forecast, but more a planning instrument to ensure the availability of energy in the future. Detailed planning will be formulated through deliberations between the stakeholders.
 
With this approach, each stakeholder will hopefully speak the same language and share the same responsibilities to create and implement solutions to deal with the current energy crisis, as well as future energy challenges.
 
(hot/kc)