The effort to reach 100 percent electrification in Indonesia has been at a great cost both for state-owned PLN, and private energy companies. Norman Harsono of The Jakarta Post reached out to these companies to learn more about their impediments.
Private companies across the country are struggling against government regulations as they attempt to provide isolated regions in the country with clean energy, partly due to strict government policies that often prioritize state-owned electricity firm PLN, despite the latter’s limited funds.
The Jakarta Post reached out to three private companies with projects in remote areas of Sumatra, Kalimantan and Papua, all of which had run-ins with government policy. Only one company, in Kalimantan, successfully completed its project, but at a cost.
Read the full story here.
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This article was originally published by thejakartapost.com with the title “Short-circuited by red tape, companies struggle to electrify remote areas in Indonesia” on 19 November 2020.
This story was funded by the AJI Jakarta Fellowship 2020 program with the support of Internews’ Earth Journalism Network