Battery charging infrastructure is one of the keys to the successful development of electric motorbikes and electric cars in Indonesia. Setting fees or minimal price by the government will then be necessary for these facilities to be used by electric vehicle owners in the country.

Seeing this, the government through the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) has officially set a battery charging service fee at Public Electric Vehicle Charging Stations (SPKLU).

The rules regarding the cost of charging electric car batteries are contained in the Decree of the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources No. 182.K/TL.04/MEM.S/2023 concerning Electricity Charging Service Fees at EVCS

The Director General of Electricity of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Jisman Hutajulu said, the provisions for charging batteries at EVCS already refer to other regulations, namely Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Number 01 of 2023 concerning Provision of Electric Charging Infrastructure for Battery-Based Electric Motorized Vehicles.

Every owner of electric motorbikes and electric cars will be charged a battery charging service fee for every time they are charged at the EVCS, either with a fast charging system or ultra fast charging.

"The maximum electricity charging service fee for EVCS Fast Charging is IDR 25,000. Meanwhile, for Ultra fast charging, it's a maximum of IDR 57,000. This service fee is a ceiling or maximum limit and is charged for every 1 (one) time of charging," explained Jisman , in an official statement, which was confiscated from the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources website.

The costs for fast charging and ultra fast charging do not include value added tax (VAT) in accordance with the provisions of laws and regulations in the field of taxation.

Four Battery Charging Methods

Meanwhile, in Indonesia itself, there are four methods of charging batteries at EVCS, namely slow charging, medium charging, fast charging and ultra fast charging

Jisman further stated that EVC business entities can apply service fees under the Decree of the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, with the considerations and strategies of each Business Entity. The amount of the service fee is evaluated every two years, to see the economy and cost feasibility.

"Currently there are 129 EVCS Fast Charging units and 47 EVCS Ultra fast Charging units. It is hoped that with this service fee, there will be more EVCS Fast and Ultra Fast Charging units, especially on long-distance routes such as toll roads, national roads, and others," concluded Jisman.

It should be noted that the determination of electricity charging rates from the government refers to the electricity tariff provisions provided by PT PLN (State Electricity Company) as stated in Article 26.

Furthermore, Article 29 paragraph (1) stipulates that the electricity tariff for charging electricity from the EVCS Business Entity that owns a battery-based EV is the cost of purchasing electricity or energy charge (kWh) according to the electricity tariff for special service needs.

Article 29 paragraph (3) stipulates that in addition to electricity tariffs, battery-based EV owners may be charged electricity service fees.

Meanwhile, service fees for slow charging technology, medium charging technology, and two-wheeled and/or three-wheeled electric charging are free of charge as stipulated in Article 29 paragraph (7).