Since the price of subsidized fuel (BBM) increased on Tuesday (11/18), many motorists are changing their fuel from Premium to Pertamax due to slight difference in price. As known, Premium now costs Rp 8,500 per liter, while Pertamax is Rp 10,200 per liter.

The price is only slightly different, so I prefer to use Pertamax now. Besides, my motorcycle also becomes more maintained

Based on beritajakarta.com observations in fuel filling station (SPBU) 3413505 Kramatjati, East Jakarta, dozens of bikers were filling their tanks with Pertamax. One of them is Feri (23), who told prefer buying Pertamax than Premium because of the slight price difference.

“The price is only slightly different, so I prefer to use Pertamax now. Besides, my motorcycle also becomes more maintained,” he said, Wednesday (11/19).

Meanwhile, the SPBU supervisor, Andri, informed that this phenomenon has happened since the beginning of Premium and Diesel fuel price hike.

“We usually sold Pertamax for as much as 2,000 liter per day. But since the fuel price hike, we sold as much as 8,000 liter Pertamax per day,” he disclosed.

Responding to this, Head of East Jakarta Industry and Energy Sub-Department, Tuti Kurnia, admitted the changing of motorists using Pertamax from Premium is a new phenomenon.

“In a week or two, public would start to adapt with the effect of fuel price hike,” she said.

According to Kurnia, the changing of using Pertamax from Premium would also have positive impacts to the vehicles’ engines. Since Pertamax has higher octane compared to Premium, the engine would be cleaner from the exhaust gas impurities.

“By using Pertamax, vehicles would be more maintained than using Premium,” she stated.