A gold merchant in Blitar, East Java, where about 10 percent of the population is still considered poor, was recently asked by a rooftop solar panel contractor why he bought the product. “Because then I became the first and the only person in Blitar to install a rooftop solar panel,” he replied. PT LEIN Power, the contractor, later shared the conversation at a seminar in Jakarta on Tuesday. Learning from the conversation, PT LEIN Power managing director Wiwaswan Pamudji said solar panels are still considered a luxury product.  “Hence, it's the prestige of having a rooftop solar panel and its advanced technology that are the reason for our customer in Blitar [to buy the product],” he added.  His statement sums up a survey by a local energy think tank, the Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR), involvi...