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tate-owned electricity company PLN has revealed that 319 villages across North Sumatra have not yet been connected to the electricity network despite the huge energy potential that the province has.

PLN North Sumatra'€™s manager of planning, Haris Nasution, said that the current energy potential of the province was more than sufficient to fulfill the need for electricity in the 319 villages.

A mini hydro energy operation, managed by locals, had the potential to produce 1,034 megawatts of electricity, according to Haris.

'€œIf this potential energy is combined with energy managed by PLN, it is almost certain that none of those villages would be forced to suffer in darkness due to the absence of an electricity network,'€ Haris told The Jakarta Post, on Sunday.

Of the province'€™s 5,554 villages, 319 were not connected to an electricity network. This, he said, was not because of limited energy supply but because of limited infrastructure and local community support, adding that almost all of those villages without access to an electricity network lacked decent infrastructure, making it difficult for PLN officers to thoroughly illuminate the region.

Other challenges, according to Haris, included the lack of local support, illustrated in the form of an objection to have trees in local neighborhoods cut down to ease PLN electricity cable installation, despite offers of compensation.

Such objections, according to Haris, were mostly evident on Nias Island, which was reported to have the highest number of villages without electricity.

'€œAlmost 50 percent of the 319 villages yet to access an electricity network are located in Nias,'€ Haris said.

Other villages, he added, were located in Mandailing Natal, North Padang Lawas, South Padang Lawas and South Labuhan Batu regencies.

Chairman of House of Representatives'€™ Commission II of the North Sumatra electoral district, Parlindungan Purba, expressed his concern over the matter, saying that the province had huge energy potential.

In Nias alone, according to Parlindungan, there are more than 100 villages without electricity and yet, at the same time, the island has the potential to produce biomass energy from non-forest trees.

He said there were many nira trees in Nias that could be processed into methanol and seaweed, which in turn could be transformed into energy. '€œUnfortunately the potential is not managed,'€ said Parlindungan, adding that it was the state'€™s responsibility.

A steamed-fueled power plant was not needed to illuminate Nias, according to Parlindungan, because such a plant would be expensive.

'€œWhat we need here is just cheap biomass energy,'€ he said, urging the government to realize biomass energy in Nias.

'€œI am asking the government to seriously deal with those villages with no electricity,'€ said Parlindungan, who planned to go to Nias on Tuesday to see the condition of the villages for himself.