Free Rice Cooker Rice Unit Distribution Program, RI Saves 9.7 Million LPG Tubes

Illustration of Rice Cooker which will be distributed free of charge to the public. (Photo: Doc. ANTARA)

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources recently issued Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Regulation Number 11 of 2023 concerning the Provision of Electricity-Based Cooking Equipment for Households.

The Director General of Electricity, Jisman P Hutajulu, said that the electricity cooking program (AML) in the form of rice cooking will begin this year and will be distributed as many as 500,000 units throughout Indonesia.

"This program has the potential to increase electricity consumption by around 140 GWh equivalent to the generating capacity of 20 MW. This program also has the potential to save around 29 million kilos of LPG or the equivalent of 9.7 million 3 kg of cylinders," he told the media, Monday, October 9.

He said the purpose of this program is to ensure affordable, reliable and sustainable access to clean energy.

In addition, this program aims to reduce LPG imports used for cooking, increase electricity consumption per capita, and support cleaner cooking technology.

Jisman admitted that this program will be useful for customers who can reduce the cost of partially cooking, which previously used LPG.

"For the government, this program can reduce the import subsidy of 3 kg LPG which is used for cooking. For PLN, this program can increase electricity sales," added Jisman.

The target recipients of this AML program are PT PLN customers with 450 VA to 1,300 VA.

"This electrical cooking tool must have domestic ingredients as evidenced by a TKDN certificate, according to Indonesian National Standards, and has an energy-efficient label. The AML specifications that will be distributed include functioning at least cooking rice, warming and steaming with a capacity of 1.8 to 2.2 liters," added Jisman.

Jisman said that this program is a grant from the Government, therefore it is necessary to pin a sticker that reads "The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources Grant" and "Not for sale".

The Directorate General of Electricity as the program implementer is currently preparing data on prospective AML recipients based on proposals from village heads or level officials, then verification is carried out involving PLN and PLN Batam. Subsequently, procurement and distribution are carried out to the community.