Bright sparks at City Hall order power plug pulled<\/p>\n
Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
In response to the recent presidential instruction on energy
\nconservation, Governor Sutiyoso issued an instruction on Monday
\nrequiring all Jakartans, especially building managements across
\nthe capital, to reduce power consumption for lighting, air-
\nconditioning and lifts.<\/p>\n
\"Our country is among the nations that are too extravagant
\nwith energy. We all need to save energy to help ease the
\ncountry's economic difficulties,\" Sutiyoso told reporters at City
\nHall.<\/p>\n
In the instruction, Sutiyoso requires building managements to
\nset air-conditioner temperatures at 25 degrees Celsius as the
\nhigher the temperature, the less energy is consumed.<\/p>\n
The instruction also requires the more efficient use of lifts,
\nelevators and lighting.<\/p>\n
The governor admitted, however, that the sanctions contained
\nin the instruction only applied to civil servants. The
\nadministration had no power to punish private individuals or
\nfirms that failed to abide by the recommendations.<\/p>\n
\"I will just reprimand them (private firms) for having no
\nsense of crisis or responsibility to the community,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He promised to carry out field checks himself to monitor the
\nimplementation of the instruction.<\/p>\n
\"This instruction is of indefinite duration as no specific
\ntimeframe applies to the energy conservation drive,\" he said,
\nreferring to the presidential instruction on energy conservation
\nthat was issued last Sunday.<\/p>\n
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono instructed officials in
\nboth central and local government institutions on Sunday to issue
\ndirectives requiring the saving of energy.<\/p>\n
The instruction also states that local administrations should
\npromote the program among the public and private sector in their
\nrespective regions by instituting various programs to conserve
\nenergy, including increasing vehicle taxes and parking fees, and
\nimposing extensive traffic restrictions.<\/p>\n
The Jakarta administration said that it had yet to adopt such
\nwide-ranging measures to save fuel in the capital, arguing that
\nit was still struggling to improve the public transportation
\nsystem in the city so as to provide alternative means of
\ntransportation for those who owned cars.<\/p>\n
Under the presidential instruction, government officials are
\nrequired to submit progress report on the energy conservation
\ndrive every six months.<\/p>\n
Jakarta City Secretary Ritola Tasmaya said that Sutiyoso's
\ninstruction applied to municipal down to subdistrict level civil
\nservants from Monday.<\/p>\n
At City Hall, the building management will operate all eight lifts
\nin the morning when civil servants arrive for work and in the
\nafternoon when they go home, while only four lifts will be
\noperated in the intervening period.<\/p>\n
\"We are not yet imposing the instruction on the managements of
\nprivate buildings, like shopping malls, apartment complexes,
\nhotels and restaurants, as we will first have to disseminate the
\ninstruction. We will then give them a week to study it,\" Ritola
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Aside from building managements, the administration said it
\nwould reduce the level of lighting on the streets, in public
\nplaces and for outdoor advertising, and cut back on the operation
\nof the city's fountains.<\/p>\n
\"Jakarta won't be totally dark as we will keep some lights on.
\nBut, of course, it will be less sparkling at night,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The central government has said that it hoped the fuel-
\nconservation drive would slash fuel consumption by between 5
\npercent and 10 percent, or at least keep it in line with this
\nyear's fuel consumption quota.<\/p>\n
The government has set a quota of 59.69 million kiloliters for
\ndomestic fuel consumption this year. However, the demand for fuel
\nrose by 10 percent in the first semester.<\/p>",
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