BANDUNG, unpas.ac.id – Recently, President Joko Widodo has instructed the use of battery-based electric vehicles to his staffs at the central and regional levels.
This is written in Presidential Instruction Regulation No. 7/2022 concerning the Use of Battery Electric Vehicles as Operational Service Vehicles and Individual Vehicles for Central and Regional Government Agencies.
Expert of Economic Policy and FEB Universitas Pasundan teacher, Acuviarta Kartabi, S.E., M.E. reviewed that the use of electric vehicles for government operations is considered very good.
“The plan of migrating from fuel-based vehicle to the electricity-based one is very good because it allows government officials to use it on certain distances. But I think it should not be used sporadically,” he said on Friday, 30 September 2022.
However, he reminded the government to pay attention to infrastructure, take the cost of using electric vehicles into account, and not to turn this migration into a business opportunity.
“Electric vehicle is not cheap. We do not want it to be the oligarchic ‘opportunity’ for people around the president, because we know that there are government policies that are ‘used’ by these people, such as during Covid-19 pandemic,” he said.
The migration of electric vehicles seems to be accompanied by a discourse to shift the use of public electricity from those with 450 VA power to 900 VA power. Acuviarta said that this power change would not be a problem, as long as it was subsidized.
“I personally do not mind if the power is increased to 900 VA, but it is subsidized. Otherwise, I do not agree, because the minimum standard for the poor must still receive subsidies,” he said.
He added that currently PLN was experiencing an oversupply of electricity of 6 Giga Watt (GW), so that the migration of electric vehicles was in accordance with the momentum.
“I think it is a good policy, as long as it is not used illegally. Importers of electric vehicles should not be appointed by the oligarchs,” he explained.
Do not let it to be a Gimmick only
The introduction of the use of electric vehicles, he said, has actually been around for a long time. It has even been developed by Dahlan Iskan while serving as Minister of SOEs.
“It has been developed long ago, so it’s not a new idea and I hope the plan to use an electric car is not just a gimmick/image. It must be implemented with a clear road map,” he said.
Asked about the possibility of skyrocketing electricity prices after the migration, he warned that it would not be like the transition from kerosene to LPG. For this reason, the plans that have been drawn up must be really mature.
He also suggested that electric vehicle users get incentives from the government, such as tax cuts. Because, they help reduce fuel consumption directly.
“Now it’s just a matter of how PLN can operate its power plants using non-fuel, one of which is by utilizing geothermal or other renewable energy. Instead of switching to electricity, PLN will use BBM to supply electricity,” he said. (Reta)**
