August 26, 2026 | 02:42 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Pertamina Patra Niaga, the subsidiary of state-owned energy giant Pertamina, stated that the company is ready to support the government's plan to limit Pertalite purchases based on household welfare levels, or deciles, by the Statistics Indonesia. However, it is still awaiting official regulations and technical guidelines from the government.
"Regarding the decile-based mechanism, including distribution criteria and limitations, Pertamina is still awaiting government regulations and technical guidance," Vice President Corporate Communication of Pertamina Patra Niaga, Kitty Andhora, said in a written statement on Tuesday, August 25, 2026.
Pertamina Patra Niaga previously signed a cooperation agreement with the Ministry of Home Affairs to integrate population data from the Directorate General of Population and Civil Registration (Dukcapil) into the MyPertamina application. The integration aims to strengthen user data verification and validation.
"This step supports a more targeted distribution of subsidized energy," she said.
Earlier, Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Bahlil Lahadalia noted that plans to restrict Pertalite purchases for decile 9 and 10 groups remain under discussion. Until a new policy is formalized, Pertalite distribution will continue under existing regulations.
Bahlil emphasized that Pertalite is a subsidized fuel intended strictly for eligible recipients. Thus, he urged affluent citizens to opt for non-subsidized fuel.
"Those who are wealthy and capable should not take away the rights of others, as subsidies belong to deserving citizens," he said.
Risks of Decile-Based Fuel Restrictions
Deciles classify population welfare levels within the Single National Social and Economic Data (DTSEN) system based on 39 socio-economic variables, including employment, education, housing conditions, electricity usage, household spending, asset ownership, and access to basic services. The DTSEN system divides the population into 10 distinct tiers.
Decile 1 represents the bottom 10 percent in economic welfare, while decile 10 comprises the top 10 percent. Deciles 1 through 5 are prioritized for social assistance, whereas deciles 6 through 10 encompass middle-class and higher-income brackets.
Nawawi, a labor researcher at the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), warned that relying solely on decile rankings to restrict fuel subsidies carries significant risks of misdirected targeting. He noted that the government cannot rely only on decile data due to ongoing flaws in population data governance, particularly regarding data collection, recording, and updating protocols.
"[Flaws remain prominent,] particularly in updating, recording, and collection methods," he said on Wednesday, August 19, 2026.
Nawawi stressed that population welfare is dynamic and cannot be fully captured by static decile categories alone. Individual economic circumstances fluctuate due to changes in household size, geographic location, number of dependents, and employment status.
Such shifts risk creating inclusion errors, where ineligible individuals receive subsidies, or exclusion errors, where eligible recipients are omitted. Nawawi cited the case of workers who experience sudden income loss following job displacement.
These immediate economic shifts are rarely reflected in decile records right away. Therefore, he urged the government to incorporate complementary metrics when defining eligible subsidy recipients.
"Several additional parameters must be taken into account when restricting subsidized fuel," he concluded.
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