Holiday Ayo - Since the government raised the price of Pertamax fuel oil (BBM), many residents have switched to consuming Pertalite which is more economical. This condition is thought to be the reason Pertalite is often empty at a number of gas stations. The reason is, the consumption of subsidized fuel is far above the consumption of Pertamax. Queues snaking the green labeled BBM post are also common in many gas stations.

However, the Downstream Oil and Gas Regulatory Agency (BPH Migas) has never said that Pertalite is in short supply even though it has experienced over-consumption. The agency's records show the distribution of Pertalite as of July 2022 has reached 15.9 million kilo liters (KL) or 69% of the maximum quota limit of 23.5 million KL. BPH Migas estimates that if the consumption of Pertalite increases by 10%, the amount of Pertalite needed is 25 million kilo liters. If the increase is 20%, the demand will reach 28 million kilo liters.

This amount is well above the allocated Pertalite availability. The same case also occurs in the type of diesel fuel. As of July 2022, diesel distribution has reached 8.3 million KL or 60% of the total capacity of 14.91 million KL per year. Now, in the midst of the threat of Pertalite being empty, the government has warned that it will increase the price of Pertalite as subsidized fuel. Previously, Pertalite was also observed to be empty in April 2022.

At that time Pertamina said that the Pertalite stock was empty at various gas stations after the government signed a decision to increase the price of Pertamax to Rp12,500. Even though Pertalite is still pegged at Rp7,650. In the case of April 2022, the Acting Corporate Secretary of PT Pertamina Patra Niaga, Irto Ginting, admitted that there was indeed a delay in delivery which made the Pertalite stock empty at a number of gas stations. "For gas stations that are empty due to delays in delivery," he said.

However, Irto said, currently Pertamina is sending Pertalite back to gas stations. He also asked the public not to worry about the stock of Pertalite, because the stock was still sufficient. One way is to activate the BBM terminal for 24 hours for distribution of Pertalite to gas stations.

"We have built up stock at gas stations. We activate several fuel terminals until the early hours of the morning and some even operate for up to 24 hours. This is to ensure the availability of fuel for the needs of the community," he said. Previously, people were observed flocking to switch to pertalite type fuel oil (BBM) after the price of Pertamax skyrocketed. One of them was monitored at a gas station in Sukabumi Regency, West Java.