Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The government, at the third plenary meeting of the National Energy Council, will formulate a national energy general plan to last up to 2050 for energy development in the country.

"The main focus of the National Energy Councils Third Plenary Meeting this afternoon is to formulate the general plan, increase the number of the councils meetings and discuss other strategic issues," President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) said while opening the plenary meeting at the Presidential Office here on Wednesday.

The president pointed out that the general plan will provide a direction and a road map to develop national energy policy till the specified time.

He argued that a comprehensive planning and development of the energy sector was required and there is a need to adopt a long term vision so that it serves as a guiding principle for the central government, the regional governments, state-owned companies and other stakeholders.

The head of state also stressed the importance of synergy between the central government and regional administrations in national energy development.

The fall in the world crude price needs should spur the nation to do two things simultaneously: improve the way the oil sector is governed, and reorder the upstream and downstream oil sector.

"The low crude price should give an opportunity to develop the countrys energy resilience by adding to the buffer energy reserves in anticipation of future development," he added.

Jokowi expressed the hope that by 2025, the countrys new and renewable energy mix would have reached 23 percent through five acceleration stages of the program.

He encouraged that the national energy development plan should boost clean energy development and stress energy conservation.(*)

Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2016