South Sumatra Provincial Government and PLN accelerate village electrification programme
Palembang (ANTARA) - The Provincial Government of South Sumatra together with PT PLN (Persero) are strengthening synergy to accelerate equitable access to electricity through the Village Electricity Programme.
South Sumatra Governor Herman Deru said in Palembang on Wednesday that accelerating electrification is important so that communities in remote areas who have not yet enjoyed electricity services can immediately obtain access to energy.
Of the 3,258 villages and sub-districts in South Sumatra, there are currently still around 21 villages, or less than one per cent, that have not yet been connected to electricity.
Remote geographical conditions, network distances reaching 20 to 30 kilometres, and the status of several areas located within production forest, protected forest and national park zones pose obstacles to accelerating electrification.
Nevertheless, PLN has obtained approval to complete the construction of electricity networks at 118 points spread across 14 regencies and cities, targeting 6,045 household connections.
He therefore asked regency, district and village administrations down to neighbourhood and community unit levels to assist PLN in implementing the programme, especially in areas with difficult terrain and limited access.
“We hope for simultaneous work and synergy from all parties, from regency administrations, districts, to villages, to help PLN complete this Village Electricity Programme,” he said.
In addition, the completion of handling around 54,000 connections in Musi Banyuasin Regency. In that programme, a cable network spanning around 900 kilometres has been taken over by PLN.
Regarding potential voltage disruptions due to the length of the network, he also asked the public to be patient. PLN, he said, will add transformers and strengthen electricity infrastructure gradually.
Meanwhile, General Manager of PLN UID S2JB Diksi Erfani Umar said the Village Electricity Programme budget sourced from the state budget is available for work at 118 points in South Sumatra.
Of the 118 points, 98 points are technically ready to be worked on immediately. Meanwhile, 20 other points still require adjustments because they are located in protected forest areas and face road access constraints.
“Alhamdulillah, the village electricity programme budget has been released, Governor. Of the 118 locations, insyaallah 98 points will be completed by December 2026 or up to March 2027,” he said.
He expressed hope that support from regional administrations down to village level can help smooth the work in the field, including providing information if there are locations that have not yet been included in the list of programme recipients.