Electrification ratio rises to 84.35%

The national electrification ratio (ER) increased to 84.35 percent at the end of last year from 81.5 percent in the previous year, according to the Directorate General of Electricity at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources.

The government has set a target to increase the ER to 99 percent by 2020.

?At present, there is an area with a less than 50 percent ER, namely Papua. The ER in other areas has been more than 50 percent. The ER is expected to reach 99 percent by 2020,? the directorate general?s Program Oversight Director Munir Achmad said in a statement.

As of end-2014, the national installed capacity stood at 53,585 MW, consisting of 37,280 MW owned by state owned electricity firm PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN), 10,995 MW owned by Independent Power Producers (IPP) and 2,634 MW owned by Public Private Utility (PPU) and 2,667 MW owned by Non-Oil Fuel-Operation License Holders, Munir said.

He said electricity demand is projected to increase 8.7 percent per year from 2015 through 2024.

New capacities targeted to come onstream from 2015 through 2019 reach 42.9 GW, including 7.4 GW now under construction and 35.5 GW planned to be developed by PLN and IPPs.

Editing by Johannes Simbolon