Indonesia to Prepare “Greener” RUPTL, Says Electricity Director General

MINISTRY OF ENERGY AND MINERAL RESOURCES

REPUBLIC OF INDONESIA

PRESS RELEASE

NUMBER: 191.Pers/04/SJI/2021

Date: 4 June 2021

Indonesia to Prepare "Greener" RUPTL, Says Electricity Director General

The Indonesian Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (EMR) will increase the share of New, Renewable Energy (NRE)-based power plants to 48 percent or 19,899 MW. This plan is stated in draft electricity procurement plan (RUPTL) of state electricity company Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) for 2021-2030. This is an increase from the 2019-2028 RUPTL which sets a 30% target for NRE. In the next ten years, the generation addition target has been set at 40,967 megawatts (MW) or 41 gigawatts (GW).

"We want the RUPTL being drafted to become a greener RUPTL. That means that it has a larger share of New, Renewable Energy (NRE) than the previous version. To compare, the current (2019-2028) RUPTL only plans 30% NRE, while the one we are drafting will set a minimum of 48%," Director General of Electricity of the Ministry of EMR, Rida Mulyana, said in an online press conference on Friday (4/6).

The RUPTL preparation is in line with the NRE mix target of 23% by 2025. Rida went on to detail various "green" policies in the 2021-2030 RUPTL currently under discussion. These policies include conversion of diesel power stations (PLTD) to NRE plants, co-firing of coal-fired power plants (PLTU), retirement of old power plants, and relocation of power plants to systems needing the plants.

In line with the discussion of the "green" RUPTL, Directorate General of Electricity is also preparing a Net Zero Emission (NZE) template to realize the commitment of President Joko Widodo made at the COP 21 in 2015.

"We are preparing a program, including its regulations, of how to reduce the share of (fossil) power plants naturally. But what is also important is how we meet the demand which is believed to be on the increase and at the same time reduce coal plant operations and then replace them. We are designing the NZE template, at least from the generation side," Rida explained.

For the record, the Ministry for the Environment and Forestry (KLHK) is drafting a Long-term Strategy on Low Carbon and Climate Resilience 2050 document which includes a vision about the NZE plan. To support the drafting, Directorate General of Electricity is preparing an NZE template of the electricity subsector.

Higher Electrification Ratio

Besides promoting the use of renewables, the Indonesian government increases public access to electricity. The Ministry of EMR has set the electrification ratio target at 100% by 2022.

"We've planned this--it is stated in the 2021-2030 RUPTL draft--that by 2022, the Electrification Ratio and the Rural Electrification Ratio will be 100%," said Rida.

Until March 2021, the electrification ratio reached 99.28%, while the rural electricification ratio was 99.59%. These figures mean that there are still 0.72% of households and 0.41% of villages throughout Indonesia that do not have electricity.

"What we pay attention to is those who do not have electricity. We try to catch up on this, for both the electrification ratio and the rural electrification ratio. We make sure that every person in Indonesia has access to energy wherever they live," said Rida.

Rida admitted that the electrification progress in Indonesia was experiencing a slowdown. Between the end of 2020 and May 2021, the electrification ratio only increased by 0.08%. Rida explained this has been due to the fact the people who do not have electricity live in frontier, outermost, and least developed (3T) regions, which pose geographical and demographical challenges. (IY)

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