Technology, PLN's Challenges in the Future
Rapid technological advances are driving the role of PLN and the structure of the electricity market in the future.
Professor of Electrical Engineering, ITB, Prof. Pekik Argo Dahono assessing the complexity of PLN's role has caused electricity inefficiency in Indonesia.
"Electricity is indeed a vital necessity for many people. But what is needed is for electricity and all its resources to be sufficiently controlled by the state, or should it be entirely owned by the state? In my opinion, the state should be sufficient as a controller. Without competition, how can we ensure PLN's efficiency?" Pekik said.
Lecturers who are members of Power Engineering Research Group This law proposes that the electricity regulatory body and supervisory authority remain in the hands of the state, while PLN's institutional structure is given two options. PLN could become the entity controlling transmission and distribution, while production is handed over to the private sector. This contrasts with the current situation, which has resulted in PLN's over-dominance.
Another alternative is an oligopoly scheme, so there will be PLN I, PLN II and so on, just like Pelindo or PT Perkebunan Nusantara.
"If we look at other industries, such as telecommunications, competition is fairer between state-owned and private companies. This is due to the existence of the Indonesian Telecommunications Regulatory Agency (BRTI), which oversees and acts as a referee for competition between state-owned and private telecommunications companies. This system should be applied to the electricity industry," Pekik explained.
The disruption at the Paiton power plant in Probolinggo, East Java, in early December 2018 once again demonstrated the instability of the country's electricity system. The incident raised questions about PLN's ability to meet the country's electricity needs.
The state-owned company seems overwhelmed by all the responsibilities it carries, including upstream and downstream work, from building electricity infrastructure and operating 70% of the power plants and nearly 100% of the transmission and distribution network to delivering electricity to customers throughout Indonesia.
In fact, PLN handles all the selection and negotiation of electricity tariffs with private power producers (IPPs) (Independent Power Producers). PLN currently has 65 million customers and is expected to continue to grow in the future.
One can imagine the enormous challenge facing PLN, not only to continue providing electricity but also to maintain service quality.
Heru Dewanto, Deputy Chairman of the Indonesian Engineers Association (PII), stated that Indonesia's electricity market is currently heavily dependent on PLN. Therefore, PLN must be financially sound and maintain operational reliability.
"If PLN's health is even slightly disturbed, the entire electricity system in the country will be disrupted," said Heru in a press release received by Alinea.id on Saturday (22/12/2018).
Heru referred to various technological advances in generation, transmission and distribution, operational optimization, EBT (New and Renewable Energy) innovation, and digitalization introduced during the 73rd National Electricity Day.
New technologies such as smart grids, big data and artificial intelligence (AI), distributed energy resources, blockchain, cybersecurity, and various battery technologies have revolutionized the electricity industry. The world is embracing the era of prosumers (producers and consumers) and energy on the internet (enernet), as well as the rise of renewable energy.
In such conditions, rapid technological advancements undoubtedly influence PLN's role and the future structure of the electricity market. Therefore, policies and regulations need to be prepared to anticipate the significant changes resulting from the technological revolution, which will ultimately lead to changes in business models.
On the other hand, data from PLN shows that currently, 3,660 villages in the Underdeveloped, Outermost, and Frontier (3T) regions still lack electricity. Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Ignasius Jonan even stated that there are still around 400,000 homes in 3T regions that still lack electricity.
Given these conditions, Heru proposed the serious development of renewable energy to meet national electricity needs. Sunlight, geothermal energy, water, and biomass are abundant renewable energy sources in this country, yet they remain underutilized.
"The technological challenge is how to make these various renewable energies affordable. The use of solar panels to meet personal electricity needs and power producers is ushering in the prosumer era. We cannot rely solely on a single institution to achieve the 23% renewable energy target by 2025. Collaboration between multiple parties, leveraging technological advances, is necessary," Heru explained.
In the future, as batteries become more affordable, electric cars will become more common. With solar panels becoming more affordable, people will have the option of selling the electricity they generate through the grid or consuming it themselves.
All available energy can be advertised online, allowing consumers to buy and sell directly. This is what's called enernet, energy on the internet.
Summarized with changes from Alinea.Id. Article by Mona Tobing.