Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Photo: AFP/VNA)Jakarta (VNA)- Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo announced onMarch 31 that the country will provide free electricity and discounts for poorhouseholds to help them cope with the economic shocks caused by the COVID-19pandemic.
He said state-owned electricity company PLN would supply free electricity forthree months starting from April for 24 million households in the 450-voltampere (VA) category – the lowest out of six categories listed under existingregulations.
PLN will also provide a 50 percent discount for 7 million households inthe 900 VA category – the second lowest – for the same three months.
Public health is thegovernment’s top priority, the President said in a media telebriefing.
The second priority is preparing social safety net measures for lowerincome citizens and third is protecting businesses, particularly micro, smalland medium enterprises, he added.
The electricity discounts fall into the social safety net category thatincludes five other schemes, including increased spending on unemploymentbenefits and the staple foodstuffs programme, after Indonesia announced anadditional state spending worth 405.1 trillion Rp (over 24.8 billion USD) tofight COVID-19.
The move came after the President declared a public health emergency,which will involve imposing large-scale social restrictions, as stipulated inthe Health Quarantine Law.
As of March 31,Indonesia recorded 1,528 cases of COVID-19, including 136 deaths, the highest death toll in Southeast Asia and also among the highestglobally./.
VNA
