12,569 Villages in Indonesia Still Without Electricity: Minister Said

Nias (Antara Bali) - A total of 12,569 villages in Indonesia still have no access to electricity and so have become the target of the "Indonesia Bright" program, Energy Minister Sudirman Said stated on Thursday.

After inspecting the newly operated electricity generating set on the island of Nias in North Sumatra, the minister said the condition varied from one village, but a total of 2,915 villages were totally dark.

"Some others are still able to enjoy electricity for two, three or six hours," he added.

Minister Sudirman also pointed out that the government, through the ministries and state institutions concerned, has prepared various programs to help the villages get access to electricity.

Until 2019, the government had set a target for providing 80 percent of the villages with access to electricity.

"Hopefully, we can cover around 80 percent of them because 60 percent of them are located in six provinces in the eastern region," he stated.

The six provinces that still have less access to electricity are Papua, West Papua, Maluku, North Maluku, West Nusa Tenggara and East Nusa Tenggara.

The six provinces are an archipelago and efforts are being made by the government for creating an exclusive cluster for them, Sudirman said.

The patterns to be followed vary and will be adjusted according to the governments capacity like whether it would be met with a power generating plant or by a rented generating set.

"It will be a combination of the two. If we have to rent, we will do it. What is clear is that renewable sources will be our reliable sources of energy," he said.

The Nias Island covers five districts/cities, but only 47 percent of its villages and neighborhoods already have access to electricity, he said.

Sudirman said he hoped the state-owned power company PLNs special program would help increase the percentage.(WDY)