The Electrical Agriculture PLN Program, 193,058 Farmers And Livestocks SEEs Its Benefits

Customers of the Electrifying Agriculture (EA) program from PLN increased to 193,058 in November 2022. (doc PLN)

JAKARTA - Customers of the Electrifying Agriculture (EA) program from PLN continue to grow. As of November 2022, the number of customers of the electricity connection service program for the agriculture, plantation, fisheries and livestock sectors reached 193,058.

This figure is based on the addition of 26,060 subscribers since January 2022, or an increase of 23 percent compared to the same period in the previous year with 156,937 customers.

President Director of PT PLN (Persero) Darmawan Prasodjo said the EA program was designed to encourage the use of technology to increase the productivity of farmers or breeders through the use of electrical energy.

"As an Indonesian agricultural country, PLN fully supports the ideals of domestic food security. So we launched this program to be able to support the agricultural sector in Indonesia," Darmawan said in a written statement, Sunday, December 18.

By utilizing electrical energy, Darmawan hopes that the production of the agricultural sector can be maximized. In addition, the EA program will also facilitate the development of other supporting infrastructure.

Meanwhile, the total connected power of EA customers until November 2022 is 3,128.8 Mega Volt Ampere (MVA). This figure grew by 23.02 percent when compared to the same period in the previous year or year on year (YoY).

In terms of total electricity sales from EA, also grew. As of November 2022, EA's electricity sales growth was 4.67 terrawat hour (TWh) or experienced sales growth of 20.98 percent compared to the same period last year.

In the future, this figure is expected to continue to grow. Moreover, this program is not only targeting the agricultural sector but also covers the fisheries, livestock and plantation sectors.

EA is designed to no longer need to pull its own cable from home. So, the PLN electricity network will be distributed to agricultural, fishery and livestock locations.

"In that way, the electricity grid will be safer to irrigate rice fields with water pump machines, eradicate pests with pest-trapping lights, or illuminate livestock and land that require intensive supervision," Darmawan explained.

In addition, this program also targets farmers who previously used generators. With electricity costs that are cheaper than the fuel price for generators, the farmers' production process becomes more efficient.