That morning, Dina Widyawan turned off the air conditioning in the\nliving room earlier than usual. The 27-year-old woman, who works as an\nadministrative staff member, has recently felt a change in her routine.\nIt was not due to a sudden surge in her electricity bill, but because of\nthe news constantly flashing on her phone. The escalating conflict in\nthe Middle East, disruptions to global energy distribution routes, and\ncreeping rises in fuel prices.<\/p>\n
Initially, Dina did not think it would directly impact her life.\nHowever, when she read that the Strait of Hormuz, a vital route for\nabout 20 percent of the world\u2019s oil and gas supply, was affected by the\nconflict, she began to rethink her habits. For her, the news was like a\ndistant alarm, but loud enough to make her pause for a moment.<\/p>\n
Since then, she has started doing small things. The AC is only turned\non when it is really hot, lights are turned off during the day, and she\nchooses to air-dry clothes instead of using a dryer. She has even begun\nconsidering taking public transport to the office occasionally instead\nof driving her own car.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we don\u2019t start saving now, we\u2019ll be shocked when prices rise\nlater,\u201d she thought.<\/p>\n
Dina\u2019s steps may seem simple, but they reflect a larger change.\nGlobal conflicts, especially in the Gulf region, no longer feel distant.\nTheir impacts ripple into homes, forcing many people to start saving\nenergy, whether consciously or not.<\/p>\n
Residents are urged to save energy, including by reducing electricity\nusage.<\/p>\n
The war in the Middle East is not just about military conflict.\nTensions involving Iran, the United States, and Israel have triggered\nmajor disruptions to the world\u2019s energy supply. Attacks on energy\nfacilities and disruptions to distribution routes have caused energy\nprices to surge sharply.<\/p>\n
In such situations, many countries around the world are seemingly\n\u201cforced\u201d to save. Governments in various countries must choose between\nbearing increasingly expensive energy costs or curbing consumption. The\nsecond option has become the most common approach.<\/p>\n
Quoting a Reuters report, the current surge in energy prices has led\nvarious countries to implement conservation policies, ranging from\nreducing electricity use, limiting fuel, to encouraging the public to\nuse public transport.<\/p>\n
For example, Thailand has asked civil servants to postpone overseas\nbusiness trips and use stairs instead of lifts. Bangladesh has even\nclosed campuses as part of its electricity-saving strategy. Meanwhile,\nSri Lanka has imposed fuel rationing to keep supplies available.<\/p>\n
In other countries, the measures taken are more extreme. Some limit\nindustrial energy consumption, ban fuel exports, or lower vehicle speed\nlimits to save fuel. All are done with the same goal: to withstand\neconomic pressures from the global energy price surge.<\/p>\n
How is the World Addressing the Energy Crisis?<\/p>\n
\u201cYou won\u2019t be able to address this just with conservation efforts.\nWhat will happen is a sufficiently high price increase so that people\nstop consuming,\u201d said Dan Pickering, head of investments at Pickering\nEnergy Partners.<\/p>\n
In the midst of this situation, Indonesia is not standing idle. The\ngovernment is preparing various policies to anticipate the impact of the\nenergy crisis, one of which is through saving fuel and electricity\nconsumption.<\/p>\n
One step taken is the implementation of Work From Home (WFH) for one\nday a week for civil servants, specifically every Friday. This policy is\nalso recommended for the private sector, adjusted to each company\u2019s\nneeds.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy Friday? Because some ministries have already been doing a\nfour-day work week with applications, this is post-COVID,\u201d explained\nCoordinating Minister for the Economy, Airlangga Hartarto, in a virtual\npress conference. He urged the public to adopt energy-saving habits at\nhome and work.<\/p>\n
The government estimates that this policy can provide significant\nsavings to the state budget. \u201cThe potential savings from the work from\nhome policy directly to the state budget is Rp 6.2 trillion in the form\nof fuel compensation savings,\u201d said Airlangga.<\/p>\n
Residents fill up fuel at one of the petrol stations on Friday\n(27\/3\/2026). No long queues or panic buying conditions have yet appeared\ndue to the Iran vs US war at three separate petrol stations.<\/p>\n
In addition, restrictions on official vehicles by up to 50 percent,\nefficiency in electricity use in government buildings, and cuts in\nbusiness trips are also being implemented. The government is even\npromoting the use of B50 biodiesel blend starting 1 July 2026 to reduce\ndependence on imported fuel.<\/p>\n
The public is also encouraged to be wiser in mobility. \u201cSmart\nmobility means prioritising public transport. The public is still asked\nto remain productive in running the economy as usual,\u201d said Airlangga.\nOn the other hand, the education sector remains normal. \u201cIn the\neducation sector, face-to-face learning activities continue normally in\nall levels of basic to secondary education five days a week, with no\nrestrictions on sports events related to achievements or other\nextracurricular activities. For higher education, semesters 4 and above\nadjust to the circular from the Minister of Education, Culture,\nResearch, and Technology,\u201d Airlangga concluded.<\/p>\n
However, this policy is not without notes. Some analysts argue that\nenergy savings from WFH do not fully reduce consumption, but merely\nshift the burden from the office to home.<\/p>\n
\u201cIs this (WFH policy) really saving energy or just shifting the\nburden? In my opinion, the answer tends to be the latter. On a national\naggregate level, energy consumption does not disappear, but shifts from\nthe government sector to households. Electricity usage at<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/when-war-teaches-us-to-save-energy-1775652775", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }