Govt rejects 55 percent hike in electricity tariff

The government has turned down a proposal to raise electricity tariff by 55 percent this year.

"I think 55 percent is too high. I will try to sit together with the House of Representatives to seek for a new figure which is not too high," Minister of Mines and Energy Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono told reporters on Friday.

He explained that the government stance was to raise both electricity tariff and fuel prices gradually and not to high so not to create a heavy burden to the people amid the ongoing economic crisis.

A government-sponsored electricity tariff team last week proposed to the House to raise the electricity tariff by 55 percent. The proposal received strong criticism from legislators. A prominent non-governmental organization (NGO), INFID, decided on Thursday to quit from the tariff team.(*)