Government Ensures Reliable Electricity Supply by Facilitating the Downstreaming of Electric Vehicle Battery Manufacturing

The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) supports the implementation of the Electricity Supply Business Plan (RUPTL) of JIIPE (Java Integrated Industrial and Ports Estate) to realize the provision of electricity with high reliability and the development of New Renewable Energy. This is done to support the accelerated growth of the Gresik Special Economic Zone (SEZ) manufacturing industry.

"With a reliable supply of electricity, we expect new investment in the industrial sector in JIIPE to continue to grow," said Director General of Electricity of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources Jisman P. Hutajulu at RUPTL PT BKMS 2023-2032 Dissemination event in Gresik on Monday (26/6).

Jisman said that electricity planning is one of the important processes in the management and development of electric power systems. A balance between the need for and supply of electricity is needed to obtain a reliable, efficient, and sustainable power system.

"If the supply of electricity experiences a shortage or deficit, it can be potentially unattractive for investors to invest in the industrial sector, especially in areas such as JIIPE," said Jisman.

To ensure the reliability of electricity supply, planning needs to prepare a sufficient reserve margin, both to maintain continuity of supply when several generating units enter the maintenance period and to anticipate the dynamics of electricity demand.

As is known, PT Berkah Kawasan Manyar Sejahtera (BKMS) is a business entity managing business areas in JIIPE, which is Gresik Special Economic Zone (SEZ) as well as a National Strategic Project (PSN).

"The government is strongly committed to developing PSN to encourage economic growth, such as through the manufacturing industry and downstream mineral refining. This commitment aims to ensure that PSN can provide long-term economic and social development benefits and improve people's welfare," said Jisman.

Jisman further said that the government also supports the provision of electricity for downstream mineral refining to increase the added value and competitiveness of the country's mining industry, reduce dependence on raw material exports, create jobs, and encourage sustainable economic development.

"In this case, we encourage PT Berkah Kawasan Manyar Sejahtera (BKMS) to provide reliable electricity to all tenants, including PT Freeport Indonesia, which has committed to carry out mineral refining in the JIIPE area," said Jisman.

Along with the increasing awareness and concern for environmental and sustainability issues, Jisman revealed that the needs of tenants are not only related to the reliability of electricity supply, but there is also an increasing demand for electricity sourced from renewable energy. In addition to export demands to enter the international market, the industrial sector is also considering the use of green electricity as part of its strategy.

The utilization of new renewable energy for electricity is in line with the direction of the national energy policy going forward, which is to transition from fossil energy to renewable energy as cleaner and more environmentally friendly energy.

In providing electricity, Jisman said that PT BKMS certainly needs support from related stakeholders. For this reason, the government encourages PT PLN (Persero) to provide support in providing electricity through cooperation between business areas of 500 MW. This can help reduce overcapacity in the Java-Bali system so that the provision of electricity will become more reliable and efficient.

On the same occasion, the President Director of PT BKMS Bambang said that the availability of sustainable, affordable, and reliable electric power is an important factor for the manufacturing industry to produce quality and competitive products.

"Gresik SEZ with the theme of Manufacturing and Technology needs to provide a competitive business climate to be able to achieve the targets given by the government in attracting foreign direct investment, export-oriented industries, and import substitution industrial sectors," Bambang said.

Bambang said that government support for providing high-reliability electricity, accelerating licensing in the field of electrical energy, and developing new renewable energy (EBT) will provide thrust and competitiveness for the manufacturing industry in Gresik SEZ in the global arena.

Jisman said that the importance of implementing the RUPTL is so that the planning that has been carefully prepared does not become useless. "We hope that all the infrastructure planned in this RUPTL can be completed on time so that the goal of providing electricity with sufficient quantity and good reliability can be realized," concluded Jisman.

Source: listrikindonesia.com