Publications

All countries, developed and developing alike, are currently facing the challenge of formulating and implementing national energy policies. Indonesia is not an exception. The first energy policy was formulated in 1977 which was then used as an input to the Third Five Year Plan 1979-1984. With the Institution of the Ministry of Mines and Energy in 1978 this policy was reviewed and updated. This review and updating was completed as recent as March 1980. Even so, this updated version is still subject to continous review and it can be expected that changes will be incorporated in the future, if not in the main policy guideline, then most probably in the programs and implementation guidelines. These reviews are necessary, to be able to accomodate uncertainties which is shared by most of the countries formulating an energy policy. These uncertainties can be broadly categorized into 4 (four) groups, as follows : 1. Uncertainties regarding to energy demand projections. 2. Uncertainties regarding to availability of various energy sources. 3. Uncertainties regarding to technology. 4. Uncertainties regarding to linkages and sensitivities between energy and national development policies. In the Indonesian case, these uncertainties are magnified due to the scarcity of reliable data, especially concerning non-commercial energy which supplies about 50% of total energy consumed. Another complicating factor in the ndonesian case is the dual role expected from energy in its contribution toward national development. First, its contribution is expected as an energy resource to fuel the national development, and secondly, as a foreign exchange earner to finance the national development. This second role expected from energy broadens the linkages with other development sectors. Using the uncertainties mentioned earlier as a starting point, this paper is also organized following those lines, i.e., first, a review is given of the Indonesian energy consumption in the recent past, secondly, an outline is given of the energy resources available in Indonesia, and finally an outline of the Indonesian energy policy and its associated programs.