While heating up some food, Agustina R Hamapati, 42, had a big smile on her face as she explained how she no longer had to look for firewood for cooking. The blue flame that emitted from the stove she was using was not from liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) or kerosene; it was produced by biogas from cattle manure collected from behind her house in Kamanggih village, Kahaungu Eti district, East Sumba regency, East Nusa Tenggara. “The electricity at our house is now available 24 hours,” said Agustina when she was interviewed at her home.
Agustina is one of about 1,900 residents of Kamanggih village that have started to enjoy a power supply without having to put up with power outages. She also no longer needs to bother looking for firewood or buying kerosene for cooking. Since 2013, Kamanggih has been able to fulfill the electricity demand of its villagers. In 2015, they started using biogas produced from cow and pig manure as replacement for firewood and kerosene.
Kamanggih, which is located a 2-kilometer car ride away from Waingapu, the capital city of East Sumba, is an example of a village that is independent in terms of its energy supply. The village is blessed with the flowing Mbaku Hau River that has never run dry. With a water debit of 250 liters per second, the river can spin a turbine to produce enough electricity for the people of Kamanggih.
The village is not the only one to take advantage of a renewable energy source to fulfill the energy needs of its residents. In 2010, the island of Sumba was chosen as an “iconic island” for the development of renewable energy. According to a study, the island’s potential for generating renewable energy is 37 megawatts (MW), or twice as much as its projected need in 2020.
Energy and Mineral Resource Minister Decree No. 3051/K/30/MEM/2015 on the Establishment of the Sumba Iconic Island for Renewable Energy reinforces the plan to meet the energy needs of the island by 2025entirely using renewable energy. The island, which has a population of around one million, is blessed with an abundance of potential renewable energy sources, such as 15 MW of micro-hydro, 10 MW of wind power, 10 MW of solar power, 10 MW of biomass and biogas-generated energy.
Cooperatives
Kamanggih’s energy independence did not happen overnight. The village received assistance in the form of a water pump and a solar panel from the government and an international donor in 1999. However, in the space of a few months, the equipment was damaged and thus abandoned.
“There was no assistance for us on how to operate and maintain the equipment. All that aid became useless,” said Hinggu Panjanji, a Kamanggih village leader.
The change in the village began with research conducted by the People-Centered Business and Economic Institute (Ibeka) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), who had partnered to push the implementation of various development projects at the grassroots level in several countries. The recommendation from Ibeka and JICA at the time was to form a management body, which ended up being a cooperative.
Umbu, as Hinggu Panjanji is called, is the head of the Kamanggih Serba Usaha Cooperative, which was established in 1999. The cooperative supervises the clean water pump and solar panels provided by Ibeka and JICA. In 2011, the people of Kamanggih worked together with donors Hivos and Ibeka to build a micro-hydro power plant on the Mbaku Hau River.
The Mbaku Hau micro-hydro power plant produces 37 kilowatts (KW) of electricity, which exceeds the 28 KW electricity needs of the Kamanggih villagers. Today, 235 families enjoy the electricity from the Mbaku Hau micro-hydro power plant. The people are charged Rp 20,000 a month for the electricity.
“If we provided it for free, it would not educate [the people]. With the contribution fee, the people feel involved and responsible for the Mbaku Hau micro-hydro power plant,” said Umbu.
In 2013, state-owned power company PLN was interested in buying the electricity generated by the Mbaku Hau micro-hydro power plant. Later that same year, an electricity trade agreement of Rp 475 per kilowatt hour (kWh) was signed between the cooperatives and PLN. This means that PLN buys electricity from the cooperative for Rp 475 per kWh. The electricity from the micro-hydro power plant has also been connected to the PLN network.
Assistance
Panca Saktiyani, an Ibeka social activist, said that before launching the renewable energy program for utilizing local energy potential, her organization had gone to Sumba to talk to people living in the area where the renewable energy power plant would be built. The purpose was to map the societal aspects, and activities included socialization programs, raising public participation and most importantly, to gain the support of the regional administration.
“It started by disseminating information about the program to the people. If they accepted it, the next move was to encourage public participation so the program could run smoothly,” said Panca, who still assists the people of Kahaungu Eti in a number of programs related to the construction of renewable energy power plants.
According to Panca, information dissemination and assistance were needed for the program to run well. The people can be trained in operating and maintaining the generators, as well as in how to manage the cooperative. A management organization was extremely important for managing the programs in a more responsible manner.
“These kinds of approaches are important so that the programs can run in a sustainable way. Seriousness and perseverance are needed. It can take months and even years to provide assistance to the people until they are truly independent,” she said.
What is happening in Kamanggih was an inevitable result. With concerted efforts, the people could become energy independent by taking advantage of the local potential.
This story can be an example of realizing the dream to fulfill the electricity needs of people across Indonesia, especially those in remote and outermost villages. Currently, 2,519 villages throughout Indonesia still do not have access to electricity.