Bright sparks at City Hall order power plug pulled

Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

In response to the recent presidential instruction on energy conservation, Governor Sutiyoso issued an instruction on Monday requiring all Jakartans, especially building managements across the capital, to reduce power consumption for lighting, air- conditioning and lifts.

"Our country is among the nations that are too extravagant with energy. We all need to save energy to help ease the country's economic difficulties," Sutiyoso told reporters at City Hall.

In the instruction, Sutiyoso requires building managements to set air-conditioner temperatures at 25 degrees Celsius as the higher the temperature, the less energy is consumed.

The instruction also requires the more efficient use of lifts, elevators and lighting.

The governor admitted, however, that the sanctions contained in the instruction only applied to civil servants. The administration had no power to punish private individuals or firms that failed to abide by the recommendations.

"I will just reprimand them (private firms) for having no sense of crisis or responsibility to the community," he said.

He promised to carry out field checks himself to monitor the implementation of the instruction.

"This instruction is of indefinite duration as no specific timeframe applies to the energy conservation drive," he said, referring to the presidential instruction on energy conservation that was issued last Sunday.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono instructed officials in both central and local government institutions on Sunday to issue directives requiring the saving of energy.

The instruction also states that local administrations should promote the program among the public and private sector in their respective regions by instituting various programs to conserve energy, including increasing vehicle taxes and parking fees, and imposing extensive traffic restrictions.

The Jakarta administration said that it had yet to adopt such wide-ranging measures to save fuel in the capital, arguing that it was still struggling to improve the public transportation system in the city so as to provide alternative means of transportation for those who owned cars.

Under the presidential instruction, government officials are required to submit progress report on the energy conservation drive every six months.

Jakarta City Secretary Ritola Tasmaya said that Sutiyoso's instruction applied to municipal down to subdistrict level civil servants from Monday.

At City Hall, the building management will operate all eight lifts in the morning when civil servants arrive for work and in the afternoon when they go home, while only four lifts will be operated in the intervening period.

"We are not yet imposing the instruction on the managements of private buildings, like shopping malls, apartment complexes, hotels and restaurants, as we will first have to disseminate the instruction. We will then give them a week to study it," Ritola said.

Aside from building managements, the administration said it would reduce the level of lighting on the streets, in public places and for outdoor advertising, and cut back on the operation of the city's fountains.

"Jakarta won't be totally dark as we will keep some lights on. But, of course, it will be less sparkling at night," he said.

The central government has said that it hoped the fuel- conservation drive would slash fuel consumption by between 5 percent and 10 percent, or at least keep it in line with this year's fuel consumption quota.

The government has set a quota of 59.69 million kiloliters for domestic fuel consumption this year. However, the demand for fuel rose by 10 percent in the first semester.