Nickel downstreaming to build the nation
The scorching sun beat down on motorcyclists queuing to buy petrol at various locations across Bali a few weeks ago. Their patience was tested as they waited for a drop of fuel that felt as precious as a diamond.
The queues could last for more than four hours, continuing until the moon was high in the sky. In many cases, when riders reached a petrol station, they were met with signs stating “out of stock” or “station closed”.
“At the time, a friend who had an electric motorbike became a lifesaver whenever we needed to go out of the office. They even helped us find a petrol station that was still selling fuel,” Rai, 55, a Denpasar resident, told ANTARA by phone from Jakarta on Sunday (18 October).
Images of long queues to buy fuel dominated the media from the start of the third week of October, before gradually easing towards the end of that week. Conditions improved after Pertamina normalised distribution and local governments introduced an odd-even system for purchases of subsidised fuel.
Rai said queues at the petrol station near his home in Nusa Dua, South Kuta, had begun to ease on Friday (16 October). Nevertheless, the long queues had made him consider replacing his conventional car with an electric vehicle.
Antania, 29, expressed a similar view. She said she had already been interested in replacing her conventional motorbike with an electric one before the long fuel queues emerged in Bali. But after the fuel crisis worsened traffic congestion in Seminyak and Kuta, her desire to buy an electric motorbike grew stronger.
Antania said she had done some preliminary research into using electric motorbikes, including brief conversations with online motorcycle taxi drivers who use them.
“The driver really recommended it, saying the technology is already very good and, when you work it out, the costs are much lower,” Antania said.
Meliyani, 29, who owns an electric motorbike, has also experienced these benefits. She said it was more economical than a conventional motorbike, particularly after non-subsidised fuel prices rose amid the conflict between the United States and Iran.
Meliyani, who had previously alternated between conventional and electric motorbikes, now uses the electric one more often in her daily activities.
“Right now, an electric motorbike is very beneficial. Fuel is expensive and sometimes scarce, so I really use it. Charging it is also cheaper than buying petrol,” Meliyani said.
These accounts may not represent all Bali residents, but they illustrate how electric vehicles can become more attractive when fuel is scarce.
If a reliable electric-vehicle ecosystem can be established, what reason is there not to move away from conventional vehicles? The government therefore has a responsibility to provide that ecosystem.
Achieving energy independence
Nickel downstreaming is also a pillar in achieving energy independence, as Indonesia cannot rely on fuel imports indefinitely.