Govt Focusing on Equalizing Access to Environment-friendly Electricity

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian government is focusing on encouraging equitable access to environment-friendly electricity across the country, an official has said.

Electricity that is friendly to the environment and equitable is characterized by a capacity increase in clean energy-based power plants, bureau head of communication, public information, and cooperation at the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, Agung Pribadi, said in a statement received here on Saturday.

According to him, the electrification ratio reached 99.4 percent in the third quarter of 2021 with an additional capacity of 386 MW clean energy plants added during January–September this year.

"We target all regions and households in Indonesia to be 100-percent electrified by next year," Pribadi said.

Based on data from the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, only East Nusa Tenggara province has an electrification ratio of below 90 percent, he noted. Meanwhile, the electrification ratio in Bali has reached 100 percent, he said.

Moreover, the acceleration of electricity infrastructure development has become one of the government's priority programs as it is linked with improving the quality of service, he added.

The government's target can increase the capacity of clean energy generators by up to 20,923 MW in 2030, Pribadi explained.

Two of the driving factors for the growth of clean energy plants are solar and hydro, he highlighted.

"Therefore, we are focusing on pushing the utilization of solar power plants (PLTS). One of which is rooftop solar power plants," Pribadi informed.

Of the additional 386 MW of clean energy, 130 MW has come from Poso district's Peaker Second Expansion hydroelectric power plant (PLTA), 71.26 MW from 12 units of micro-hydro power plant (PLTMH), 55 MW from two units of geothermal power plants (PLTP), 19.5 MW from bioenergy power plants, and 17.88 MW from rooftop PLTS, he added.

With the growing trend, the government is optimistic that it can achieve the 23-percent new renewable energy mix target by 2025, Pribadi said.

One of the efforts taken by the government is raising the portion of state electricity firm PT PLN's Electricity Supply Business Plan (RUPTL) in 2021–2030, which aims to be 51.6 percent greener, he added.

Read: Sri Mulyani: Free Electricity Program Extended Until September

ANTARA