Jakarta – To achieve the Net Zero Emission (NZE) target, the government should see the energy transition as an issue all sectors face. The energy transition should not only stop in the energy sector and big cities, officials said.
“Local governments play an important role in accelerating the energy transition by considering the welfare of the regions that will be affected through the Regional Energy General Plan or RUED,” said Director of Electricity, Telecommunications and Informatics, Directorate of Electricity, Telecommunications and Informatics of the Ministry of National Development Planning/Bappenas, Rachmat Mardiana in a written statement at a public discussion on the Clean, Affordable and Secure Energy (CASE) Programme for Southeast Asia with the National Energy Council (DEN).
According to Mardiana, RUED is a long-term strategic plan that covers all aspects of energy in a region, including energy production, distribution and consumption. He said the discussion is important because, in its implementation, the region’s social, cultural and economic sides are often forgotten in the energy transition process.
The CASE programme wants to introduce the concept of an equitable energy transition from public discussions to discuss the implementation of RUED in coal-producing regions so that the central and regional governments can collaborate more in the energy transition that does not forget the economic and social impacts, especially for communities that depend on the coal business.
Based on the discussion results, it is known that coal mining is the largest contributor to gross regional domestic product (GRDP) in coal-producing areas such as East Kalimantan and South Kalimantan.
Julius Christian, Research Manager of the Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR), said that through long-term energy sector projections, it was observed that the global demand for coal would decline due to the energy transition, and its use could even reach up to 50% if projected by the 1.5°C temperature reduction target.
He said that according to the IESR study, the coal mine closure scenario with a case study in Paser Regency showed a 60% decrease in East Kalimantan’s Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) but a decrease in the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of around 3%.
Christian’s words are reinforced by the Long Term Energy Scenario (LTES) study conducted by the CASE Programme. “Based on CASE Indonesia’s LTES study, energy demand in Kalimantan is projected to increase about twice in 2045 compared to 2021.
Electricity demand in Kalimantan is also projected to increase with an average growth of 3.8%, mostly absorbed by the industrial, household and commercial sectors. With the gradual early retirement of PLTU, this electricity demand should be supplied by renewable power plants,” said Nike Diah Agustin, CASE Programme Officer, Institute for Essential Services Reform. (Hartatik)
