Regarding Needing PMN Of IDR 10 Trillion, PLN President Director: 4,400 Villages Have Not Yet Received Electricity

Illustration (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - Indonesia has been independent for 77 years, but more than 4,400 villages in the frontier, outermost, underdeveloped (3T) areas do not have access to electricity. Therefore, it requires State Capital Participation (PMN) to supply electricity to these areas.

This was conveyed by the President Director of PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (Persero) or PLN, Darmawan Prasodjo in a meeting with Commission VI of the House of Representatives (DPR), at Parliament Complex, Monday, November 28.

Darmawan assessed that the PMN of IDR 10 trillion for the 2023 fiscal year proposed by PLN would greatly help the company in accelerating the development of electricity infrastructure in the area.

"In fact, more than 4,400 villages in the 3T area have not yet enjoyed electricity from PLN. And we acknowledge that access to these areas is difficult to reach, isolated, in remote areas, and some are even on borders between countries", said Darmawan.

"Referring to the fifth principle of social justice for all Indonesian people, it is impossible for us to leave our brothers and sisters who know that they are already independent and still do not enjoy justice from the cake of development. For that PMN is the spirit of justice", he concluded.

Furthermore, Darmawan said that electricity infrastructure was the root cause of the problem of access to electricity in some villages in the 3T area. This is because the reach to the location is difficult to do.

However, Darmawan is optimistic that with the PMN, the people's basic needs for electricity will be fulfilled.

"The allocation of PMN in the 3T area to supply electricity to meet the basic needs of the community, this is an effort how in these areas, which previously experienced structural poverty, did not have access to electricity", he said.

"There is no access to energy, there is no access to educational activities. With this electricity, basic services in these remote areas can be available and this is the impetus for new economic growth points in areas that really need them", he continued.

For your information, the Ministry of Finance has indeed approved the PMN for the 2022 budget year of IDR 5 trillion and has been given 100 percent through two stages of disbursement.

PMN 2022 is allocated for new and renewable energy (EBT). In particular, building power generation infrastructure with local resources in the form of hydropower and geothermal power plants amounting to IDR 0.22 trillion.

Then, the function of transmission and substations to connect electricity in the 3T area is IDR 2.56 trillion. Then, the distribution function and village electricity support connecting customers and encourage the development of super-priority tourism areas amounting to IDR 2.22 trillion.

Meanwhile, continued Darmawan, PLN proposed PMN in 2023 of IDR 10 trillion. This fund will be allocated for the generation of EBT, particularly the infrastructure of hydropower, solar power, geothermal power plant, and hydropower plants worth IDR 1.74 trillion.

"Then, the transmission function and substations to connect electricity in remote areas amounted to IDR 3.78 trillion. The distribution function and village electricity to connect customers reached IDR 4.48 trillion", he said.