TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Residents urged to use alternative energy
Residents should exploit alternative energy sources to respond to the recent increase in the price of fuel, which may lead to a jump in the prices of other commodities, an official of the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministryâs Central Sulawesi office has said
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
R
esidents should exploit alternative energy sources to respond to the recent increase in the price of fuel, which may lead to a jump in the prices of other commodities, an official of the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry's Central Sulawesi office has said.
The office's head of electricity and energy usage, Sulistianingsih, said alternative energy sources such as firewood, candle nut tree shells and coconut shells, were widely available locally but few people had tapped their benefits.
She admitted, however, that people must be creative in tapping into alternative energy sources. They could create biogas briquettes from cow manure, for instance.
Palu and several other regencies and municipalities in Central Sulawesi have implemented the kerosene to liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) conversion program.
Many local residents have started to use gas stoves and LPG canisters for their daily cooking activities but some still use kerosene and firewood to cook.
Based on Presidential Regulation No.191/2014, premium fuel is no longer subsidized by the government but diesel and kerosene remain subsidized commodities, the prices of which are set by the government.
The government increased the fuel price by Rp 500 (38 US cents) per liter, which took effect as of March 28, but was providing a fixed subsidy of Rp 1,000 per liter for diesel while kerosene received a fluctuating subsidy.
Fitria, a Palu resident, said she was still using kerosene to cook although it was selling at Rp 12,000 per liter. She said that under normal conditions, 1 liter of kerosene could last three days while a 3-kilogram LPG canister priced at only Rp 16,000 could be used for three weeks.
Fitria said she was still afraid of using a gas stove given a series of LPG-related explosions that may have been caused by leaking gas cylinders.
The government continues to encourage people to convert to gas from kerosene by providing gas stoves and 3-kg LPG cylinders for free, as they are much more cost efficient and emit less pollution. (ebf)(+++)
