Jakarta. Indonesia has insisted that it must have the final word on the price of the planned Singapore-bound green electricity exports.

The neighbor aims to buy at least 3.4 gigawatts of low-carbon electricity from Indonesia by 2035. Both sides have clinched deals for the power linkage to take shape, even backed by a leaders-level commitment, but the two ASEAN nations were still trying to pinpoint the best price possible.

Chief Energy Transition Minister Bahlil Lahadalia recently reiterated that the power exports would hinge on the price negotiations, saying that Indonesia must find the tariff acceptable.

“We are open to export, but we [Indonesia] must be the one to decide the price,” Bahlil told the Investor Daily Summit on Wednesday, while avoiding naming the city-state.

He said it would be unfair for the buyer to set the price, given that they are the ones who need the green power supplies. He went on to say that “geopolitics come into play when it comes to cross-border power deals”.

“Electricity exports should not be interpreted as purely a commercial transaction.”

“Are you saying that we are a country of brainless people? ... We can trade, but we must safeguard our sovereignty. We must not sell [the power] cheap. We have to have the same bargaining position.”

Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong’s recent Jakarta visit saw some fresh deals involving Danantara on this project. The signed documents revolved around the electricity offtake and technicalities. About a few months ago, Singapore’s Minister of State for Trade Gan Siow Huang admitted that negotiations should take into account carbon credits and premiums, or the extra costs that buyers pay to use green electrons compared to brown electricity.

“We are looking at something that has to be commercially viable,” Gan said at a briefing with Indonesian journalists in her office back in July.

To the Jakarta Globe, Fabby Tumiwa, who helms the energy think-tank IESR, finds what constitutes a win-win price tag is one that “reflects production costs, reasonable margins, and the cost of transmitting electricity to Singapore”.

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