0 Public show mixed reactions to electricity tariff hike

Bali residents have expressed different reactions to the government’s policy to increase the basic electricity tariff by 15 percent, which could affect the price of commodities. Starting this month, the state electricity company, PT PLN, will apply a tariff hike on customers using electricity above 900 Volt Ampere (VA). Although those who only have access to a voltage below 900 VA will not have to pay the increased tariff, most people are worried that it will affect the price of their daily goods and services, especially commodities that require electricity in their production and delivery. 

Gede Budiana, a Denpasar resident who owns two rented houses with 1,300 VA of electricity each, said he planned to increase the rent following the increase in the price of electricity. “The house that I live in will not be affected by the hike because it only uses 900 VA of electricity, but my two rented houses will surely be affected, so I will increase the rent,” said the father of three. Another resident, Ardi, who has been running a laundry for the last two years, will recalculate his operational costs following the tariff hike. 

He said he would not abruptly increase the price of laundry, considering that the business has tough competition. “The electricity tariff hike will automatically affect my operational costs because laundry heavily depends on electricity. But we will see over the next two or three months about increasing our prices.” Several other residents, who own small and medium enterprises, such as food stalls, photocopy outlets and internet cafes, also expressed similar reactions. 

Ida Bagus Gede Sidharta Putra, the owner of Griya Santrian Hotel, said that the hotel management could outsmart the increased tariff by saving energy and increasing room tariffs and charges for other services. He said the hotel management usually discussed changes in room tariffs with its business partner six to 12 months before enacting price increases, with careful consideration of all the price components. The rise in the electricity tariff, Sidharta said, would greatly affect operational costs in the hotel. 

“The price of electricity is surely a crucial component in defining our prices. But we have also carried out some measures to compensate for the hike by saving energy, for example, by using energy-saving light bulbs, as well as using solar cells for the water heaters,” he said. Gede Sumarjaya Linggih, chairman of the Bali chapter of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said businesses could not abruptly increase the price of their products or services after the rise in electricity prices. 

They could only outsmart the change by doing business more efficiently. Agung Mastika, spokesman for PT PLN in Bali, explained that most of the company’s customers were households using between 450 VA to 900 VA of electricity, which accounted for 60 percent of all customers. This group would not be affected by the tariff hike.

source : bali daily