00:00In Jakarta, drivers have to sit in line for nearly an hour just to fill out.
00:07For months now, the only source of gasoline has been the state-owned provider Pertamina.
00:13At private stations like Shell and BP, the pumps haven't moved in months.
00:18Once they ran out of supplies, they were not allowed to import fresh fuel.
00:23At times like this, I have no choice but to buy fuel from Pertamina
00:28even though the quality is not good.
00:31I usually buy fuel from Shell, but right now they're completely out.
00:36I feel my car's performance hasn't been good since I switched to Pertamina's fuel.
00:41This all started after a fuel-mixing scandal at Pertamina
00:45pushed many drivers to switch to Shell and BP.
00:48Demand at private stations suddenly exploded,
00:51but Indonesia did not increase their import quota.
00:55Instead of letting Shell and BP import fresh fuel from abroad,
00:59the government told them to buy it from Pertamina, their state-owned competitor.
01:05By stopping private stations from importing fuel, competition has basically disappeared.
01:10And without competition, quality and consumer choice suffer.
01:14The government rejects this.
01:16It says the goal is to keep fuel prices low without monopolizing the market.
01:21Starting in 2026, private stations will resume importing fuel on their own.
01:28There's no monopoly here.
01:29If we were monopolizing, private stations wouldn't exist.
01:32And as for the government involvement, the law requires it.
01:36Anything that affects people's basic needs, in this case energy,
01:39must be controlled and managed by the government for the greatest benefit of the public.
01:44But experts like Fabi Tumiwa at the IESR energy reform think tank argue the shortage shows what happens
01:55when one supplier dominates the market.
01:58Quota rules should never create shortages.
02:01Quotas are necessary, but the system should be flexible and rational.
02:05If private stations can show that their demand has increased, they should be allowed to import more.
02:12And if the supply ends up being excessive, next year the import quota can simply be adjusted.
02:18BP and Shell have now given in and are selling fuel they had to buy from Pertamina,
02:23just to reopen some of their pumps.
02:26Next year, fresh quotas will allow private stations to import their own fuel again.
02:30But unless those quotas grow with demand, the same problem may return and so-called the queues.
Comments