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RI overlooking energy efficiency in net-zero push, observers say
Indonesia could tap billions in potential savings if it focused its emissions reduction drive more on energy efficiency, which was often overlooked in the country's energy transition, experts say.
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A technician tests a prepaid electricity meter on July 22, 2020 at a Jakarta facility of state electricity company PLN. (JP/Dhoni Setiawan)
E
nergy efficiency has been largely overlooked in Indonesia’s endeavor to reduce carbon emissions from the power sector, experts and industry insiders say, pointing to artificially low electricity prices as a key problem.
The country is potentially squandering billions of dollars annually by neglecting energy efficiency amid the country’s shift toward renewable energy sources, according to Steve Piro, founder CEO of Synergy Efficiency Solutions (SES), an energy service company (ESCO) headquartered in Jakarta.
“Twenty-two percent of energy used in the country could be saved through energy efficiency, meaning that’s how much energy is wasted in the country,” Piro told The Jakarta Post on July 16.
“That’s hundreds of billions of dollars going up in smoke.”
Indonesia accounted for half the energy savings potential in the region, Piro added, which means it could be one of the world’s biggest energy efficiency markets.
Read also: PLN says it needs $25b to build renewable energy grid
As Southeast Asia’s biggest economy as well as its largest energy producer and consumer, the country has an estimated potential of US$60 billion in annual energy savings from energy efficiency, according to Piro, who noted that the more than 200 local projects SES had completed were just a small fraction of that market.
