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Have we ever imagined, what would happen if all electricity in this world suddenly went out? Implausible panic and chaos will ensue. Community activities will be disrupted. All lights will not be working, including traffic lights that will cause traffic jams everywhere. No matter how sophisticated the technology is today, without electricity our communication system will also be paralyzed. All business activity will practically on halt.

Truly, no electricity can be disastrous. This made us realized the immense importance of electricity for our lives. To that end, the Government continues to make electricity available for all people in all corners of Indonesia, from city to rural villages.

Electrification growth ratio of this nation has been continuing to increase from year to year. Up to September 2020, the electrification ratio had reached 99.15%, grew 11% compared to 2015, which was 88.3%. This achievement has also exceeded the national targets set in the 2015-2019 National Medium Term Development Plan (RPJMN).

In the last five years, the number of villages with electricity power has also continued to increase. In September 2020, the number of villages with electricity had reached 83,028 villages, an increase of around 12,000 villages compared to 2015, which was 70,391 villages. Thus, access to national electricity has now become more evenly distributed throughout the country.

In line the increasing needs and vital role of electricity, the Government ensures that coal will continue to be the main energy source for electricity generation in Indonesia until 2050. In this case, coal-fired power plants are estimated to still dominate power plants landscape in Indonesia with a share of up to 45% in 2018, and will reach 50% by 2050.

Meanwhile, the Government of Indonesia estimates, domestic coal-fired power plants with supplied coal from domestic coal mining industry can still last for at least 300 more years.

At the same time, the demand for coal for the industrial sector is also quite high. Coal is indispensable for the industrial sector, especially for the cement, paper, and textile industries. Coal consumption growth for industries is estimated to continue to increase with an average consumption growth rate of 5.8% per year.

We must acknowledge that coal is inseparable from the electricity we all need today, especially in Indonesia. Moreover, coal is still one of the main energy sources to generate electric power to sustain our life, human activities, and global economic growth. The availability and supply of coal can help actualize equitable energy and lights for all Indonesians, this fact has made coal immensely central in our life.

To sum it up, coal certainly has a central role in the Indonesian Government effort to provide lights and electric power to all regions in Indonesia. Yes, more than half of Indonesia’s power generators is coal powered. Thus, we can simply say that coal brings lights, and coal brings the lights to all Indonesia.

Writer: Corporate Communications of PT ABM Investama Tbk.

Sources: bumn.go.id