Impact of Fuel Price Hike: Electric Vehicle Users in Jakarta Increase Ninefold

Jakarta (ANTARA) - PLN Unit Induk Distribusi (UID) Jakarta Raya estimates that the number of electric vehicle users in the capital will continue to rise alongside the increase in fuel prices (BBM) amid the US-Iran conflict. General Manager of PLN UID Jakarta Raya, Moch Andy Adchaminoerdin, noted that the number of electric vehicle (EV) users has already increased ninefold. “The growth in electric vehicles is very significant, especially in Jakarta. The number of vehicles has risen up to ninefold,” Andy stated in the South Jakarta area on Monday. According to Andy, along with this trend, charging patterns among the public have also changed. The public now tends to charge at home (home charging). He said that since 2021 until now, home charging usage has increased 21-fold with a total of 830,000 users. In addition to being convenient, the use of home charging, Andy continued, is also driven by various incentives. Users who charge at night, especially after 10:00 PM WIB, receive discounted rates. Not only that, new installations for home charging facilities also receive cost reductions, making it increasingly attractive to the public. On the other hand, to support the mobility of EV users on the road, Andy said his company is continuously developing infrastructure for Public Electric Vehicle Charging Stations (SPKLU). According to him, the potential for an increase in the number of electric vehicle users in the capital remains open, along with issues of rising fuel prices. Therefore, the addition of SPKLU is deemed necessary to accommodate those needs. “We want EV users to not have difficulty in charging,” Andy stated. PLN also provides the Trip Planner feature in its mobile application to allow users to know the location of SPKLU as well as monitor potential queues.