Letters: The irony of power

Wed, 11/18/2009 1:12 PM  |  Opinion

The latest frequent power blackouts suffered by customers of the state-owned electricity company PLN are not only confined to Jakarta and its surroundings but also several areas in and outside of Java.

It is ironic that this resource-rich country suffers from power crisis as, in fact, there are abundant energy resources. One may ask why Indonesia's 2004 power consumption with 469 kWh/cap was the smallest in ASEAN countries compared to Malaysia's 3.039 kWh/cap, Thailand's 1.084 kWh/cap, The Philippines's 599 kWh/cap and Singapore's 8.010 kWh/cap (The Ministry of Research and Technology 2005)?

In the meantime, according to the 2005 World Bank report, PLN's rate of Rp 617,50/kwh was higher than that of Malaysia's Rp 589,00, and Thailand's Rp 570,00. While the cost of living in Indonesia is lower than in those countries, PLN's rate should not be that high.

All those blackouts should not have happened to this country after more than 60 years of independence. A lot of energy resources are actually in place such as hydroelectric power, geothermal, coal and solar energy and micro hydro, not to mention renewable energy.

I was in Central Sulawesi for an official visit earlier this month, and experienced power blackouts for two days in a row. When I complained about it to people there, they said it was customary to have such blackouts without clear reasons.

This frequent power outages have prompted the regents and mayors across Central Sulawesi to convene at the provincial capital city of Palu to plan a rally in front of the Presidential Palace in Jakarta (The Jakarta Post, Nov. 11).

If such a rally or protest by regents and mayors does take place, it would be a bad precedence for the government indicating how serious the matter is.

However, when it comes to power blackouts, not only those regents and mayors who suffer most, but all citizens and businesspeople as well.

In short, everybody needs the electricity for running personal as well as official activities.

Meanwhile, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's new government has announced a list of 15 priority programs out of 45 programs for its first 100 days in office.

Of the 15 priorities, eight are in economic sectors including electricity supply. But can the government accomplish the energy problems in just 100 days?

Of course not, the program should first be drawn up in a blueprint of five-year action plans and put on offer for domestic as well as overseas investors.

After that, simplify the regulations, cut the bureaucracy, and move with great speed on energy security.

Give them ample opportunity to set up power plants according to their interests, be they in geothermal, gas, solar energy and so on.

PLN then should be ready to buy their power as they do not have access to selling it directly to customers.

If their price is expensive, the government could give them subsidies particularly those of the renewable energy such as geothermal.

We are waiting for PLN's breakthrough in the hope that no more power blackouts occur in Indonesia and that the country can at least keep up with the power consumption of a neighboring country like Thailand.

M. Rusdi
Jakarta

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