75 million people in RI have no access to power

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

While Jakarta is brilliantly lit up ahead of the Idul Fitri holiday, about 75 million people across the country, mostly living in rural areas, have no access to electricity.

A World Bank report released on Monday said Indonesia was lagging behind other countries in the region in its electrification ratio, partly due to the cost of investment in the sector.

Indonesia, with a 39 percent electrification ratio in 1994, only reported 65 percent coverage in 2003.

In comparison, Vietnam, which had an electrification ratio of 15 percent in 1994, increased that to 83.5 percent in 2003.

"Indonesia can increase the ratio to 90 percent in 2020 and even to 95 percent in 2025. It is an ambitious target but a possible one," said World Bank senior infrastructure economist Migara Jayawerdana on Monday.

To explore options for reaching these targets, the World Bank, in cooperation with the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources and state utility company PT PLN, will hold a one-day workshop at the Gran Melia Hotel in South Jakarta on Tuesday.

Jayawerdana said that to reach the 90 percent target by 2020, the country would have to provide access to electricity to an additional 1.5 million people annually.

"Each province will require specific solutions in terms of financing, types of resources used to generate power as well as development methods," he said.

Java island, with 72 percent electrification coverage, is rich in geothermal and biomass energy, potential resources for environmentally friendly, renewable sources of electricity, he said.

"Half of the population without electricity, or some 35.6 million people, reside in Java, especially in the rural areas," Jayawerdana said, adding that there was still 18 percent of the nonrural population that did not have access to power.

Islands with the lowest coverage of electrification are Nusa Tenggara and Papua, with 34 percent and 21 percent coverage, respectively.

"Since PLN must apply an across-the-board rate, it is not feasible for them to expand their network in those areas since it would cost them more than the income they could generate there," added Jayawerdana.

PLN is focusing its expansion on Java, Bali and Sumatra, allocating just 17 percent of its projects for other islands in order to minimize losses.

The one-day workshop on Tuesday to be attended by provincial representatives will discuss options for overcoming barriers to successful electrification in the country.

"We will discuss cost recovery, financing options, legal frameworks and the institutional support needed to reach the targets," Jayawerdana said.