Residents unhappy with free gas stoves

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

A government initiative to phase out the use of kerosene in households and replace it with gas has received a mixed response from the public, with some Jakarta residents wanting to return their free gas stoves.

Some residents in Kebon Sirih subdistrict, in Central Jakarta, reportedly want to return their free gas stoves out of fear they will cause fires. But other residents have actually welcomed the giveaways, which were distributed on June 30.

"Using a gas stove (to cook) is actually pretty convenient, as food cooks quicker," housewife Harni "Nita" Yusnita told The Jakarta Post on Saturday. "The only thing is the limited capacity of the tank; only 3 kilograms, and the price of a refill is expensive."

Nita reverted back to using kerosene after her free gas supply ran out, as none of the nearby shops sell the refills.

The distribution of gas stoves and liquid petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders to poor households in Jakarta is part of a government effort to phase out heavily subsidized household kerosene, which is mostly used as cooking fuel.

The retail price for a 3-kilogram gas refill, which is currently subsidized by the state, is Rp 15,000 (equivalent to US$1.66) -- higher than the official state-owned oil company PT Pertamina price of Rp 12,750.

Pertamina currently holds a monopoly over nearly 95 percent of the country's fuel distribution.

The cost of a gas refill is equivalent to about six liters of kerosene, based on the current rate of between Rp 2,000 and Rp 3,500 per liter.

According to Nita, a 3-kg gas refill lasts for about three days when used moderately, while six liters of kerosene usually lasts a week.

Nita said she had no qualms about safety in converting to gas, since she had followed proper procedures.

"I think many residents got too excited when they received their free stoves and failed to check the regulator prior to installing the set ... this is probably why fires started," Nita said, referring to a an inferno that razed 50 houses in a densely populated area in Cawang, East Jakarta, in late June.

The fire was reportedly sparked by one of the giveaway stoves a resident was trying to turn on. No deaths or injuries were reported in the blaze.

A neighbor of Nita and food stall owner, Ana Radianawati, was eager to start using her gas stove, but delayed doing so as she had just bought a brand new kerosene stove.

"It would be such a waste to ditch the one I just bought for the gas one," said Ana, who has been selling food in the neighborhood for more than 15 years.

Darojat Tafsir, another Kebon Sirih resident, told the Post that while most Kebon Sirih residents preferred using gas stoves, there were a few who had difficulty in converting from kerosene.

"A couple of my neighbors, particularly the older ones, don't know how to use them ... they have used kerosene for so long," Darojat said.

The city consumes about 2.7 million liters of kerosene per day.

A severe shortage of the country's kerosene supply, which affected a number of cities, has caused prices to skyrocket, with low-income households bearing much of the brunt.

The government, which allocated Rp 40 trillion in 2006 to subsidize millions of kiloliters of kerosene for household use, eventually introduced an ambitious nationwide program of converting to LPG.

The initiative, launched by Vice President Jusuf Kalla on May 8, 2007, has been implemented by Pertamina, which is set to distribute more than 300,000 gas stoves and 3-kg LPG cylinders to around 400,000 poor households that are still using kerosene stoves in Jakarta, Depok and Tangerang.

The program will also extend to Medan, Palembang, Semarang, Surabaya, Denpasar, Banjarmasin, Makassar and several other major cities around the country.