'PLN's service is still lousy'
State power company PT PLN is asking people in Java and Bali to save energy from May 23 to June 6 as it struggles to complete a natural gas conversion project at the Muara Karang and Tanjung Priok power plants. Responding to the appeal, the Jakarta administration is switching on street lamps and lamps used for outdoor billboard advertisements only after 8 p.m., and has reduced the use of air-conditioners. The Jakarta Post asked residents for their thoughts on the issue.
Sara Karina, 27, is a kindergarten teacher living in Cempaka Putih, Central Jakarta.
PLN's call to switch off at least two lights between 5 p.m. and 10 p.m. has proven to be ineffective. How could it be effective if not all households obey the call? In my neighborhood unit, only one household has turned off its light for the whole week, but the rest are using the same amount of lights as they use to.
Moreover, 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. is a break time for housewives, when almost all household work is done. We mostly use that time to watch soap operas or gossip shows on TV. It is difficult for us to save lights during that period. If PLN wants to urge us to save lights, they should urge us to do it after 10 p.m.
I understand that the purpose of the call is good, but the image of PLN itself is very bad among consumers. As a producer, they demand more than they give. They raise the price all the time, but yet, their services are still lousy.
Reza, 16, is a third-year high school student. He lives with his parents in Kramat, Central Jakarta.
Many of my friends talk about how we must save energy and do what PLN told us to do -- switching off the lights every evening. But, I don't think they really do it.
For students, the 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. period is the time to relax and spend quality time in their rooms while playing video games, watching movies or listening to the radio. You can't ask students to save electricity in those hours. The students earn that quality time after spending the whole day at school.
Most students would be very angry if Jakarta is hit by a major black out, but they won't blame themselves. They will blame PLN for it. So, I guess PLN should find some other creative ways to save on electricity.
--The Jakarta Post