Bali, August 29, 2023 – Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR) alongside the Energy Transition Policy Development Forum (ETP) hosted a discussion to bridge the gap between policy and practices in accelerating energy transition in Indonesia. This discussion was a side event at the ASEAN Energy Business Forum 2023, held on Friday (25/08).
Business representatives were from Quantum Power Asia, Suncable, PT TML Energy and the Indonesian Biofuel Producers Association. The policymakers included the Ministry of Investment/BKPM, Vice Ministry of Finance, Coordinating Minister of Maritime Affairs and Investments; The Regional Government of Bali and Perusahaan Listrik Negara.
Both businesses and policymakers representatives shared their challenges, expectations, plans, and collaborative strategies to make energy transition work in Indonesia. An underlying challenge faced with both stakeholders is financing. On one side, businesses face a lack of incentives while generating renewable energy projects and subsidies make it harder for renewables to compete with conventional energy sources. On the contrary, policymakers need investment to be able to generate projects.
In its report titled “Indonesia Sustainable Finance Outlook (ISFO) 2023”, IESR observed that there are significant investment risks associated with renewable energy due to unattractive tariffs. The tariffs contribute to lower private investor confidence in renewable energy projects. Furthermore, the lack of transparency in the procurement process for renewable energy projects highlights the necessity for improving the investment environment and the bankability of renewable energy projects. This improvement would lead to increased confidence among private investors and greater trust from international funders.
Businesses are keen to support the development of renewable energy in Indonesia. However,regulations need to be settled first to shorten the negotiations process between government and private sectors. Furthermore, aligning the energy transition agenda between government bodies, harmonizing regional and national policies, and interconnectivity are the key points of the discussion between the two stakeholders.
Fabby Tumiwa, the Executive Director of Institute for Essential Services Reform, encourages the Indonesian government to learn from policies and best practices from other countries to accelerate energy transition. Although these said policies and strategies need to be adapted as “Indonesian-style” (the solutions should be based on national wisdom and situation) policies and practices to accommodate the complexity of the Indonesian energy sector.
“Indonesia needs an energy ecosystem to enable investment and partnerships. We need to be perceptive, we need innovations and a different approach from Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) to boost energy transition. PLN needs to prepare for the ecosystem and it has to be supported by policies from the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources to foster public and private financing. Although there are different expectations from businesses and policymakers, we have to keep moving forward, despite our limitations,” stated Fabby.
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