The Electricity Grid in Indonesia: The Experiences of End-Users and Their Attitudes Toward Solar Photovoltaics (SpringerBriefs in Applied Sciences and Technology)

In 2017, nearly 60 million households in Indonesia were connected to the national power grid. Accordingly, we believe that their ‘voice’ is important to maintain democratic and participatory values in planning electricity services. However, what is actually the voice of electricity users in Indonesia? Also, what can we learn from it when looking at the fitness of the electricity supply in Indonesia in the context of costs, reliability, and environmental aspects? This book presents the real experience of households, some of the grid users in Indonesia. Through a series of surveys in 2017, households in three cities in Western, Central, and Eastern Indonesia shared their experiences and preferences regarding their electricity supply. They offered their opinions about the stability and reliability of electricity supply, how they coped with blackouts, and what impacts power interruptions had on their daily lives. Because of the frequent power outages, the users started to think about the importance of having a back-up power generator at home. Given that Indonesia has high solar irradiance the whole year through, we also observed the users’ attitudes toward solar photovoltaic (PV) systems. The book starts with a brief introduction about Indonesia followed by the status and challenges of power supply in the country. Then, in the middle section, the users’ voices are presented. Finally, the potential of PV systems, as a promising solution to increasing electricity access and improving the reliability of electricity supply in this tropical country, is presented. We believe that this book provides useful information for the transition to the use of solar energy in energy systems in Indonesia, which is meant for academia, electric utility companies, PV system actors, policymakers, and of course, households in Indonesia. Preface 6 Contents 7 1 Energy in Indonesia: The Main Factors 9 1.1 Preface 9 1.2 An Archipelago with a Unique Power Supply System 9 1.3 A Growing Economy that Brings Optimism 13 1.4 Big Population with a Significant Demand for Energy 15 1.5 A Challenging Climate with Excellent Solar Energy Potential 16 1.6 Stakeholders’ Interest in Regulations 22 1.7 Conclusions 26 References 26 2 Status and Challenges of Electricity Supply 29 2.1 Preface 29 2.2 Status of Energy Supply and Fossil Fuel Resources 29 2.3 Challenges in Electricity Supply 30 2.3.1 Regional Differences 31 2.3.2 Low Electricity Consumption 33 2.3.3 The Price Disparity Between Urban and Rural Areas 34 2.3.4 Imbalance in Power Sale 34 2.3.5 Variations in Reliability 34 2.3.6 Power Infrastructure Development 35 2.3.7 Electrification Versus Climate Change Mitigation 36 2.4 Indonesia’s Electric Power System 36 2.4.1 PLN’s State Monopoly 36 2.4.2 Electric Power Infrastructure 37 2.4.3 Electricity Business Models 38 2.4.4 Customer Groups 38 2.5 Renewable Energy 39 2.5.1 The Low Share of Renewable Energy 39 2.5.2 Challenges to PV Systems 40 2.5.3 Role of PV Systems 42 2.5.4 Regulations that Support Renewable Energy 43 2.6 Conclusions 43 References 43 3 Experiences of End-Users of the Electricity Grid 45 3.1 Preface 45 3.2 Demand for a Reliable Electricity Supply 45 3.2.1 Energy Demand and Electricity Supply 47 3.2.2 Reliability of Electric Power 49 3.2.3 User Perception to Evaluate the Reliability of Electricity Supply 50 3.3 Research Questions and Methods 51 3.4 Results 56 3.4.1 SAIDI and SAIFI 56 3.4.2 Household Experiences 56 3.4.3 The Reliability of the Electricity Supply According to Measurements 63 3.5 Discussion and Conclusions 66 References 70 4 The Attitudes of End-Users Toward Solar Photovoltaics 74 4.1 Preface 74 4.2 The Survey 74 4.3 Awareness of End-Users About Renewable Energy and Climate Change 75 4.4 Attitudes of the End-Users of the Electricity Grid Toward PV Systems 77 4.5 Conclusions 80 Reference 80 5 The Energy Potential of Solar Photovoltaics in Indonesia 81 5.1 Preface 81 5.2 Methodology 81 5.2.1 Grid-Connected PV Systems 82 5.2.2 Off-Grid PV Systems 88 5.2.3 Costs 96 5.3 Potential for Grid-Connected PV Systems 99 5.4 Potential for Off-Grid PV Systems 102 5.5 Overview 102 5.6 Discussion 105 5.7 Conclusions 106 References 106 Appendix 108 A.1 Demographics of Respondents Who Participated in the User Study 108 A.2 The Survey Sheet (English-Translated) 109 A.3 The Proportion of Respondents’ Answers to Survey Questions, in Percentages 111 A.4 The Proportion of Respondents’ Answers to Survey Questions, in Percentages 111 B.1 Input Data Per Province for the Calculation of the Technical Potential for Grid-Connected PV Systems 111 Index 117 Preface......Page 6 Contents......Page 7 1.2 An Archipelago with a Unique Power Supply System......Page 9 1.3 A Growing Economy that Brings Optimism......Page 13 1.4 Big Population with a Significant Demand for Energy......Page 15 1.5 A Challenging Climate with Excellent Solar Energy Potential......Page 16 1.6 Stakeholders’ Interest in Regulations......Page 22 References......Page 26 2.2 Status of Energy Supply and Fossil Fuel Resources......Page 29 2.3 Challenges in Electricity Supply......Page 30 2.3.1 Regional Differences......Page 31 2.3.2 Low Electricity Consumption......Page 33 2.3.5 Variations in Reliability......Page 34 2.3.6 Power Infrastructure Development......Page 35 2.4.1 PLN’s State Monopoly......Page 36 2.4.2 Electric Power Infrastructure......Page 37 2.4.4 Customer Groups......Page 38 2.5.1 The Low Share of Renewable Energy......Page 39 2.5.2 Challenges to PV Systems......Page 40 2.5.3 Role of PV Systems......Page 42 References......Page 43 3.2 Demand for a Reliable Electricity Supply......Page 45 3.2.1 Energy Demand and Electricity Supply......Page 47 3.2.2 Reliability of Electric Power......Page 49 3.2.3 User Perception to Evaluate the Reliability of Electricity Supply......Page 50 3.3 Research Questions and Methods......Page 51 3.4.2 Household Experiences......Page 56 3.4.3 The Reliability of the Electricity Supply According to Measurements......Page 63 3.5 Discussion and Conclusions......Page 66 References......Page 70 4.2 The Survey......Page 74 4.3 Awareness of End-Users About Renewable Energy and Climate Change......Page 75 4.4 Attitudes of the End-Users of the Electricity Grid Toward PV Systems......Page 77 Reference......Page 80 5.2 Methodology......Page 81 5.2.1 Grid-Connected PV Systems......Page 82 5.2.2 Off-Grid PV Systems......Page 88 5.2.3 Costs......Page 96 5.3 Potential for Grid-Connected PV Systems......Page 99 5.5 Overview......Page 102 5.6 Discussion......Page 105 References......Page 106 A.1 Demographics of Respondents Who Participated in the User Study......Page 108 A.2 The Survey Sheet (English-Translated)......Page 109 B.1 Input Data Per Province for the Calculation of the Technical Potential for Grid-Connected PV Systems......Page 111 Index......Page 117