Figure 1. Mr. Muhammad Kayam (second from the left), the director of the Upstream Chemical Industry of the Ministry of Industry presented as the first speaker of the focus group discussion.
Purnomo Yusgiantoro Center (PYC) held a Focus Group Discussion (FGD) on August 29, 2018, as a part of the collaborative research between PYC and Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA). The research aims to review recommendations regarding energy issues of the manufacturing industry in Indonesia for National Medium Term Development Plan (RPJMN) 2019-2024 arrangement. The objective of the discussion is to gain inputs, suggestions, and views from various experts and stakeholders in the industry as well as the energy sector.
Mr. Muhammad Kayam, as the director of the Upstream Chemical Industry of the Ministry of Industry, and Mr. Saleh Abdurahman, as the general secretary of the National Energy Council (DEN), were invited as the speakers of the event to give overviews, both from the industrial and regulator views. Mr. Rauf Purnama, as the representative of Indonesia Chamber of Commerce (Kadin) and Mr. Jarman Sudimo (General Director of Electricity, Ministry of Energy and Natural Resource in 2015) also joined the event as the responders. The fruitful discussion was run smoothly and productively, as it was moderated by Mr. Luluk Sumiarso.
During his presentation, Mr. Muhammad Kayam emphasized the importance of energy supply quality, especially coal, natural gas, and electricity, to achieve desirable industry growth. He also explained that new industrial estates (KI) should be developed close to the energy or raw-material sources for ease of access to energy. He concluded with an explanation of some strategies to eliminate energy issues in the industrial sector such as ensuring the energy supply to industry, price rationalization, energy diversification, energy demand data synchronization, and development of power plant outside of Java.
The second speaker, Mr. Saleh Abdurahman, started his presentation with an explanation of the regulatory and planning role of DEN. He pointed out his concern on the drop of the industrial sector as shown by low energy-per-capita of Indonesia compared to other countries. He highlighted the importance of Regional Energy Plans – Province (RUED-P) to map the regional energy need and the required investment to build the infrastructure. He added that it is important to spread the investment of the industry outside Java.
Mr. Rauf Purnama added that it is important to ensure reliable energy supply and distribution to the downstream industries, as their investment may not big enough to build an independent power supply. He also concerned with coal export activities as adequate coal stock is vital for the domestic manufacturing industry. Mr. Jarman Sudimo gave interesting views on the utilization of cogeneration plant. He explained the benefits of a cogeneration plant in increasing the efficiency of a plant as it reuses energy loss in the form of heat for other purposes. This led to an alternative way of conserving energy use.
The FGD was closed by a speech from Mr. Luky Yusgiantoro as the representative of the PYC. He concluded with the importance of coordination among all responsible institution in solving the energy issues. Finally, the event had given many comprehensive insights and inputs for the PYC-ERIA research and development of the energy sector.
