Gov’t Committed to Improving Access to Electricity
Photo by: Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources
Based on the ease of access to electricity ranking issued by the World Bank, Indonesia has climbed up to the 33rd rank in 2020 from the 75th rank in 2015.
“This is one of the indicators in improving the climate of doing business in Indonesia,” Head of Communication, Public Information Services and Cooperation Bureau of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources Agung Pribadi said in a written statement, Saturday (14/11).
According to Agung, the success of achieving a higher position in electricity access ranking is a result of various measures, including ensuring a reliable and affordable electricity supply, encouraging innovation, and ensuring excellent consumer service.
In the meantime, Director of Commerce and Customers Management of the state electricity company PT PLN Bob Saril in his official statement said that the availability of supply cannot be separated from the infrastructure development carried out by the PLN. On the power plant side, as of September 2020, the capacity has reached 63.3 Gigawatt (GW), an increase of approximately 7.8 GW from that of 2015 with 55.52 GW.
“The better infrastructure will certainly increase the availability of electricity supply and its reliability. Electricity is not only available in Java and downtown areas, but also in all regions of Indonesia and in remote villages,” Bob said.
The PLN is also continuously building substations and transmission networks. In 2015, there were 1,499 substations with a total capacity of 92,000 Mega Volt Ampere (MVA). The number increased to 2,161 substations in September 2020 with a total capacity of 146,000 MVA.
On the power transmission network, there is an increase in the length of the transmission network by almost 19,000 circuit kilometers from 41,000 circuit kilometers to 60,000 circuit kilometers.
Regarding the service side, the PLN provides one-stop service for new electricity installation and for increasing electricity power. It will also launch new PLN Mobile, an integrated service application for customers, in the near future.
For the record, the Government continues to take measures to achieve 100% electrification ratio target by the end of 2020. Currently, there are still around 400 villages in the 3T regions (the frontier, outermost and underdeveloped regions) that do not have electricity. Meanwhile, the national electrification ratio has reached 99.09 percent in the first semester of 2020. (PR of Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources/UN)
Translated by: Ridwan Ibadurrohman
Reviewed by: Mia Medyana
