With a light drizzle, the atmosphere was still bright on the veranda of the wooden house on stilts. There were only three light bulbs in the house, which measures less than 40 square meters.
By
ARIS PRASETYO/ICHWAN SUSANTO/KRIS RAZIANTO MADA
·5 minutes read
Nday Lio, 45, from Tanarara hamlet, Maubokul village, Pandawai district, East Sumba, East Nusa Tenggara, asked us to turn off the lights after taking pictures on a Wednesday afternoon in early February. With a light drizzle, the atmosphere was still bright on the veranda of the wooden house on stilts. There were only three light bulbs in the house, which measures less than 40 square meters.
"We have to save electricity. Apart from enabling us to manage the house, electricity is also used for lighting when weaving or pounding corn at night,” Nday Lio said while serving hot coffee.
Lighting in Tanarara, although modest, is like a luxury for local residents. The only electricity supply in the village comes from wind power plants (PLTB) and solar power plants (PLTS). Their construction was initiated by state-owned oil company PT Pertamina through a corporate social responsibility program with the Institute of Business and People\'s Economy Foundation (Ibeka) in 2014.
Outside of Tanarara hamlet, 48 windmills stand upright and were spinning fast that afternoon because of the strong wind. The roar of the windmill blades sounded distinctive to the ear.
There is no replacement because we don\'t have enough funds to buy them.
Each of these windmills can generate up to 500 watts peak (Wp) of electricity. On a stretch of land at the top of the hill, 10 solar panels, each with a power of 100 Wp, are installed.
In the corner of the installation of windmills, there is a building where important components are connected to two generators, such as batteries for storing electric power, inverters (current converters) and controllers (battery charging control devices).
"It has been three years and several controller units have been damaged. There is no replacement because we don\'t have enough funds to buy them. Besides, we don\'t know where to buy them,” said Koparihi, 35, a Tanarara resident who helps operate the plants.
With exhausted batteries and damaged components, the electricity supply in Tanarara is weak and unreliable. There is enough electricity to light only a few light bulbs in the 67 houses in Tanarara. As a result, electricity only lasts two hours, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. The rest of the day is completely dark.
In fact, in Tanarara, there are 118 houses that would receive a power supply if the components connected to the PLTB and PLTS in the area were not damaged. These houses, some of which are new buildings owned by young families, still use kerosene-fueled lamps or petromax for lighting. However, the kerosene-fueled lamps are considered dangerous as they could cause fires as the houses are made of wood and bamboo.
No more payments
Every resident who enjoys electricity from the PLTB and PLTS in Tanarara is required to pay a fee of Rp 20,000 (US$1.39) per month. The proceeds from the collected contributions will be used to finance the operation of the generators.
"Now, no one pays the fees anymore. The payments have stopped. I also cannot force residents to pay the fees. Yes, it’s been left like this,” said Huki Ngunjumeha, 52, a local resident who was appointed to manage the plants.
Now, no one pays the fees anymore. The payments have stopped. I also cannot force residents to pay the fees.
Due to the absence of fee payments, equipment maintenance cannot be carried out. When there is damage, there are no funds to make repairs or replacements. Huki was worried that if this continues, Tanarara could return to complete darkness. More severe damages at the plants are only a matter of time if they are not fitted with new spare parts.
East Nusa Tenggara has the lowest electrification ratio in Indonesia, namely 88 percent in 2020. Meanwhile, the national electrification ratio that year was 99.2 percent.
A development program was initiated in 2011 to turn Sumba into an iconic renewable energy island, known as Sumba Iconic Island for Renewable Energy. The program was stipulated in a 2015 Energy and Mineral Resources Ministerial Decree and has the mission of providing clean energy in Sumba and achieving an electrification ratio of 95 percent by 2025.
The government disclosed that the remaining electrification ratio that has not been reached to date is in remote, outermost and frontier regions with difficult geographical conditions.
"This is the challenge in ensuring equal access to electricity in Indonesia. The electrification ratio of 100 percent would not be enough if it is accompanied by reliable supply,” said the director general of electricity at the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, Rida Mulyana.
Koparihi is still hopeful that the electricity supply in his village will be strengthened by the government. If one day, the network of state-owned electricity company PLN arrives in Tanarara, he has already planned to buy a refrigerator or sell cellular phone credits.
In any case, the people of Tanarara are Indonesians who also have the right to stable and reliable energy access. They are waiting for the government to respond to residents\' longing by bringing bright light to Tanarara.