DIGIVESTASI - The government is preparing a sustainable investment ecosystem to support national economic growth. One of the main steps is to encourage investment in the new renewable energy (EBT) or clean energy sector.

Investment Minister and Head of the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM), Rosan Roeslani, revealed that sustainable investment can accelerate Indonesia's economic growth, in line with the 8 percent growth target set by President-elect Prabowo Subianto.

“We want export-oriented and sustainable investment. We will continue to carry this theme in the future because global demand has led to that, that development must be done sustainably,” Rosan said in a written statement on Monday (14/10/2024).

He added that clean energy-based investment is the main focus of global investors, and Indonesia must take advantage of this opportunity. In addition, the government plans to develop industrial estates powered by clean energy. “We will also encourage the development of clean energy-based *industrial parks* in Indonesia,” he said.

In line with the government's plan, President Director of PT PLN (Persero), Darmawan Prasodjo, emphasized PLN's readiness to create a clean energy-based investment ecosystem. PLN has provided *Renewable Energy Certificate* (REC) services to meet industry needs for reliable and affordable clean electricity supply.

“Through this service, we are ready to support the direction of sustainable investment focused by the government. This is also in line with efforts to achieve *Net Zero Emissions* (NZE) by 2060,” Darmawan said.

Darmawan explained that the electricity supply from the *Green Energy As a Service* (GEAS) service comes from renewable energy plants. As of September 2024, REC services have been enjoyed by thousands of customers with total transactions reaching 9,776 and sales of 4.01 million megawatt hours (MWh), a significant increase compared to the previous year.

PLN has also added two new plants as REC sources, namely the Ulumbu Geothermal Power Plant (PLTP) in East Nusa Tenggara and the Orya Genyem Hydroelectric Power Plant (PLTA) in Papua. With this addition, PLN now has eight plants that produce 4.7 million REC units per year.

**Renewable Energy Bill Still Stagnant**

On the other hand, the discussion of the New Energy and Renewable Energy Bill (EBET) is unlikely to be completed by 2024. Member of Commission VII of the House of Representatives, Mulyanto, estimates that this bill cannot be passed during the current session of the House of Representatives because there are still many debates, especially regarding the *power wheeling* article.

Mulyanto, who is also a member of the Working Committee (Panja) of the EBET Bill, rejects rules that allow private parties to sell EBT electricity directly to the public by renting state-owned networks. He considers this to reduce the role of PLN.

“This regulation has the potential to liberalize the electricity sector, which is contrary to the constitution, where electricity must be controlled by the state,” he said.

The principle of PLN's monopoly as the sole buyer of electricity from generators and sole seller to consumers is a constitutional mandate to keep electricity from being controlled by individuals and prices determined by the market.

The government, in the DIM (Problem Inventory List) related to *power wheeling*, said that the need for electricity from EBT must continue through a power supply plan that prioritizes the use of state networks in accordance with applicable regulations.

Find more news and articles on Google News