Jakarta (Indonesia Window) - The Indonesian government will reduce LPG (Liquified Petroleum Gas) imports as an effort to maintain the national energy security, because using more imported LPG will have a serious impact on the country's trade balance.

An expert staff member for Strategic Planning at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Yudo Dwinanda Priaadi, made a statement at the International Energy Agency (IEA) Standing Group for Global Energy Dialogue (SGD), Monday (Sep 14).

The statement responded to the impact of COVID-19 on household energy consumption.

"The option to reduce LPG imports is taken by looking at the trend of consumption of LPG and electricity in the household sector which has returned to the way it was in January, before the COVID-19 pandemic," Yudo explained.

The use of induction stoves, he continued, was one of the efficient steps in dealing with reducing the use of LPG stoves, and even it would significantly increase Indonesia's energy efficiency.

Therefore, the ministry will cooperate with the IEA to carry out in-depth discussions about the plan to reduce the LPG imports.

Yudo explained, as an implementation of the 2020-2021 Joint Work Program, Indonesia and the IEA have carried out several collaborative activities, especially in strengthening the partnership between the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, the Indonesia’s National Electricity Company (PLN), and the IEA in the development of electricity and renewable energy in the country.

The main focus of those activities is optimizing the design and implementation of new flagship schemes to boost investment from private sector in the renewable energy development, as well as setting up strategies to increase the integration of renewable energy and the electricity system operation.

"We hope that the partnership between Indonesia and international organizations will support the integration of renewable energy and the improvement of the electricity system in the country towards a sustainable and resilient recovery," Yudo said.

Currently, the government is working on a Presidential Regulation on Feed in Tariff to encourage renewable energy investment.

"Hopefully the new regulation can create a friendly environment for investment and offer many opportunities for investors," Yudo said.

Reporting by Indonesia Window