Hybrid Generator Frees Residents Of The Remote Hamlet Of Bondan Cilacap From Darkness

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CILACAP - Bondan Hamlet is one of the remote areas in Cilacap Regency, Central Java, which is located far from the center of the crowd.

The only means of transportation for the residents of Bondan Hamlet who enter the Ujungalang Village area, Kampung Laut District, is only a boat because the area is located in the Segara Anakan Lagoon area.

Most of the residents of Bondan Hamlet are immigrants and the majority are from Karawang Regency, West Java. They came around 1997 because they were interested in following in the footsteps of their predecessors who were successful in starting milkfish and tiger shrimp ponds on emerging lands in the Segara Anakan Lagoon.

At that time, the condition of Bondan Hamlet was still very worrying because there was no electricity available so that it was pitch black at night and local residents only relied on oil lamps for lighting.

Over time, Dusun Bondan was able to enjoy the light of electric lights thanks to the corporate social responsibility (CSR) program from PT Refinery Pertamina Internasional Unit Cilacap (then known as Pertamina Refinery Unit IV Cilacap, ed.) in 2017.

The CSR program assistance is in the form of a Hybrid Energy One Pole (HEOP) prototype that converts solar and wind energy into electricity. The HEOP prototype, which at that time was only capable of producing direct current (DC) for 14 connection points.

In addition, Pertamina also provided assistance in the form of solar panels for 14 points located far from the location of the HEOP prototype.

Although the electric current generated from HEOP cannot be used for electronic devices that require alternating current (AC) with a voltage of 220 volts, at least Bondan Hamlet is no longer pitch black at night because its residents get lighting from LED lamps that use LED lights. DC current.

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Collaboration

Pertamina's efforts to provide information to the residents of Bondan Hamlet do not stop there, but continue. Pertamina also collaborated with the Cilacap State Polytechnic (PNC) to develop electrical energy in Bondan Hamlet with a power of 6,000 Watt Peak (WP) in 2018.

Furthermore, in 2019, the hybrid power plant (PLTH) built by Pertamina with PNC with a capacity of 12,000 WP was inaugurated and by the end of 2020, the PLTH, which is equipped with five windmills and 24 solar panels, was increased to 16,200 WP.

"Alhamdulillah, thanks to the guidance from Pertamina in collaboration with other related parties, there was a breakthrough in the form of this PLTH. From the beginning it didn't mean it was impossible because we didn't have road access, but this is the right thing to do in Bondan Hamlet for the electrical energy system, installation PLN electricity is difficult, there is no road access," said a spokesman for the PLTH Management in Bondan Hamlet, Muhammad Jamaludin in Bondan Hamlet, quoted by Antara, Wednesday, October 6.

He admitted that since the PLTH was established, Dusun Bondan has undergone many changes from an economic perspective and so on, including maximizing children's learning activities at home at night.

"Back when I was (still in school) it wasn't like that, I only studied as little as it was dark. Thank God, my brothers and sisters, the children in Bondan Hamlet can now study optimally at night," said he who is also the Chairman of the Bondan Sukses Sejahtera Cooperative.

Until now, he said, electricity from the PLTH was able to illuminate about 40 residents' houses with a power of 500 watts per house so that it could be used for the needs of electrical devices such as televisions and rice cookers.

Residents who use electricity from the PLTH are only burdened with relatively cheap maintenance costs, which are Rp. 25,000 per month.

However, he said that if there was a problem in the flow of electricity, his party would provide compensation in the form of reducing the residents' contributions in the following month.

In addition to lighting and the needs of residents' electronic devices, the electricity generated by the PLTH is also used for the needs of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) as well as the Sidesimas (Community-Based Desalination System) facilities assisted by Pertamina and PNC aimed at processing brackish water into suitable for consumption.

Jamal said the presence of Sidesimas, which was inaugurated in 2020, has also greatly helped the residents of Bondan Hamlet, who have been meeting their water needs for consumption during the dry season by buying or searching for it on Nusakambangan Island, which takes approximately three hours by boat.

According to him, residents who use water from the Sidesimas facility are only charged a fee of Rp. 1,500 per jerry can of 30 liters as maintenance costs. The cost is much cheaper when compared to buying or looking for yourself to Nusakambangan Island.

If you buy, residents have to spend around Rp. 3,000-Rp. 5,000 per jerry can, while if you look for yourself to Nusakambangan Island, it costs at least Rp. 200,000 for boat operations and you may not get water because you are in line.

"In the past, water from one boat was usually for one week's needs," he explained.

Meanwhile, Chairman of the Management of Sidesimas Muhammad Saepulah said that the brackish water from the pond to be treated at the Sidesimas facility was first deposited in a reservoir for one night so that the dirt would not interfere with the filtration system and membranes.

According to him, the water treatment facility with a capacity of 240 liters per hour is only operated twice a day, for eight hours each to maintain engine reliability.

"On average it produces 2,000 fresh water a day that is suitable for consumption. The water absorbed by residents ranges from 1,000-1,500 liters per day," he said.

Head of Bondan Hamlet, Irawan, said that Bondan Hamlet is inhabited by 74 families consisting of 202 people. Of the 74 families, only 40 families or houses are electrified from the PLTH and the rest use solar panels because the distance is too far.

"The presence of the PLTH really helps the residents of Bondan Hamlet so that they can use electronic devices such as televisions and others," he said.

One of the housewives, Susi Susanti, said that the presence of PLTH in Bondan Hamlet is very beneficial for local residents. He admitted that he had felt the darkness of Bondan Hamlet at night before the electricity came.

At that time, he said, lighting at night only used one liter oil lamp for three days.

"I've only been here for seven years because my husband is from here. In the past, I wanted to go home because I didn't feel at home, but now I don't because there is electricity," said she, who comes from Cianjur, West Java.

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Growing economy

Regarding the PLTH program, the Interim Area Manager for Communication, Relations and CSR of PT Kilang Pertamina Internasional (KPI) Cilacap Unit Ibnu Adiwena said it was part of Pertamina's corporate social responsibility program to develop frontier, remote and disadvantaged areas (3T) .

In this case, Dusun Bondan is one of the remote areas in Cilacap Regency which is difficult to get electricity. Therefore, his party adapted a model that was carried out at Pandansimo Beach, Bantul Regency, Special Region of Yogyakarta.

"Initially at Pandansimo Beach there was no electricity and the economy did not grow, but we continued to initiate modeling using PLTH, a combination of windmills and solar panels. Eventually the economy grew by 60 percent," he said.

The hope is that by imitating this model, he said, the economy of the Bondan Hamlet community can grow and access to education for children can be better.

This is also in accordance with Pertamina's motto, namely Energizing You (giving energy to you, ed.) which means Pertamina always strives to serve the community and provide energy for the benefit of the Indonesian nation.

In addition, he hopes that the presence of PLTH in Bondan Hamlet can also support the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially point one, which is ending poverty in all its forms everywhere.

According to him, his party also provided assistance in the form of Sidesimas facilities in the form of a brackish water treatment system into drinking water for the residents of Bondan Hamlet.

"God willing, we will also support the cooperative program because after the electricity is available, access to clean water is already there, what is needed is to unite this community so that they are independent. Thus, when we exit the program, they can truly be independent, not forever. We support it," he said.

When Bondan Hamlet became independent, he said, his party considered the development of cooperatives to be the best forum for developing the residents' economy.

Pertamina's efforts to improve the welfare and economy of the residents of Bondan Hamlet are not limited to the construction of PLTH and Sidesimas facilities.

The state-owned enterprise (BUMN) engaged in the energy sector also provides guidance and community empowerment through the development of MSMEs, including increasing the turnover of the MSME group to Rp. 7,500,000 per month and increasing the yield of group ponds to 1.5 tons per hectare.

Especially for the utilization of the Sidesimas facility, from an economic perspective, there was an average savings of 76 percent of spending on purchasing clean water per family from Rp. 743,590 per month to Rp. 185,897 per month.

Utilization of renewable energy through PLTH and the provision of suitable water for consumption through the Sidesimas facility provides positive energy for the residents of Bondan Hamlet to welcome a better future.