Total launches solar lamps for the poor
Tuesday, December 17 2013 - 12:35 PM WIB
PT TATS Indonesia (TATSI), an affiliate of oil and gas firm Total E&P Indonesie (TEPI), a subsidiary of French firm Total SA, officially launched on Tuesday Awango by Total, a solar lamp product that can also be used to charge mobile phones.
TATSI?s Director Suharmoko said in Jakarta the new product is aimed for people who live in remote areas and do not access to electricity. It reflects Total?s social commitment to people in remote areas by providing them with lamp product which is of high quality, affordable and brighter than kerosene lamp.
He said Awango by Total has been sold in Indonesia in three types of product, namely Dlight S20 (up to 8 hours light, rechargeable using AC or solar/dual charging), Dlight S300 (up to 16 hours light, dual charging, can be used to charge mobile phone), and Sundaya Ulitium (up to 60 hours light, dual charging, up to 4 lamps, can be used to charge mobile phone etc).
TEPI? President Director/General Manager Elisabeth Proust said that TEPI fully supports TATSI doing its business in Indonesia, adding that Awango by Total is a contribution from Total to support millions of households in Indonesia to get access to electricity. In Indonesia there are 16.78 million households (26.63 percent) not connected to electricity grid, according to Proust.
Suharmoko added that TATSI was established in 2010. From November 2011 to October 2013, in excess of 34,000 Awango by Total lamps have been sold to170,000 people in East Java, Aceh, North Sumatra, Riau Islands, East Kalimantan, Sulawesi and Nusa Tengggara Timur (NTT). They were distributed through local cooperatives, NGOs, foundations, small scale firms.
?Our program for 2014 onwards is to scale up the business to entire regions in Indonesia,? he said.
Through Awango by Total, Total has developed a social business, a social enterprise that have a social mission but is run as normal business that adopt market based approach, with three objectives: deliver social, economic and environmental benefits; ensure economic viability, build a sustainable business, he said.
?Indonesia is one of three countries, aside from Cameroon and Kenya, which were selected to become pilot projects for this effort, when our Access to Solar program was launched in 2010. Now the pilot project has been extended to 17 countries. Awango by Total is targeted to reach 5 million people or one million households by 2015,? he said.
Editing by Johannes Simbolon