Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) Bahlil Lahadalia has opted not to comment on the recent cancelation of electricity tariff discounts for June–July 2025, pointing instead to fellow Cabinet member, Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani Indrawati, who has made the announcement on the discount policy.

"Regarding the electricity tariff discount, please ask the one who announced it," Bahlil told reporters after opening the 2025 Human Capital Summit at the Jakarta Convention Center on Tuesday, June 3, 2025.

His remarks came amid growing public questions following the abrupt removal of the discount from a list of proposed economic stimulus measures. The government ultimately chose to proceed with only five out of six planned programs.

Earlier, the ESDM ministry clarified that it had not been involved in the formulation or cancelation of the electricity discount for the June–July period.

“The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources was not involved in the decision-making process for the electricity tariff discount in June and July 2025,” ministry spokesperson Dwi Anggia said on Monday, June 2, 2025.

Anggia confirmed that the ministry was never officially asked to provide input regarding the policy. Nevertheless, she emphasized the ESDM ministry’s readiness to offer technical insights whenever officially requested, particularly for policies affecting public welfare, including subsidies and electricity compensation.

“The ESDM Minister is always prepared to provide input when officially requested, especially for policies with significant public impact,” Anggia said.

She added that while the ESDM ministry oversees the power sector from a technical perspective, the ministry respects the jurisdiction of other institutions involved in announcing and revoking the electricity discount policy.

“Since the policy initiative and its cancelation fall outside our authority and rest with another institution, the Minister of ESDM fully respects the decision. Therefore, we suggest directing any questions on this matter to the institution that made the announcement,” Anggia said.

Questions remain

The abrupt cancellation has stirred speculation and disappointment among consumers and energy observers. The tariff discount seen as a relief measure amid rising living costs was expected to ease the burden on low- and middle-income households.

Sri Mulyani has confirmed the cancelation of the electricity discount, citing delays in the budget preparation process.

“There was a meeting with fellow ministers regarding the implementation of the electricity discount,” Sri Mulyani told reporters at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta on Monday, June 2, 2025.

Previously, Coordinating Minister for the Economy airlangga Hartarto said that electricity tariff discounts were one of six government subsidy and assistance packages.

“But since we intended to launch the policy in June–July, we couldn’t execute it due to delays in budget allocation,” Sri added.

She cited that the electricity discount, originally intended to benefit some 79.3 million low-power households (1,300 VA and below), will be replaced by a wage subsidy program instead.

“If you look at the original design, wage subsidies were previously applied during the COVID-19 period. At the time, data from BPJS (the national social security agency) needed to be cleaned up, just like the DTSN database,” she cited.

Sri Mulyani asserted that the BPJS Ketenagakerjaan (Workers’ Social Security Agency) database is now much better, allowing the government to target wage subsidies at workers earning less than Rp3.5 million per month.

“With accurate data and readiness, the wage subsidy program is a more feasible option for now,” she said.