The Ministry of Villages, Development of Disadvantaged Regions and Transmigration and state-owned electricity company PT PLN (Persero) have agreed to collaborate to meet the electricity needs of all villages to increase the productivity of village-owned enterprises (BUMDes).

“If electricity is available in all villages, covering all households in villages, villagers can enjoy the benefits, and they will produce more goods and services,” Villages, Development of Disadvantaged Regions, and Transmigration Minister Abdul Halim Iskandar said in a written statement received here on Monday.

Meeting the electricity needs of villages would also greatly help increase the productivity of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) as well as businesses owned by villagers and business groups in villages, he added.

He said he hoped that with adequate electricity supply, the productivity of goods and services at the village level would increase.

“Alhamdulillah (thank God),  PLN is ready to provide 100 percent of villages with electricity in 2024,” he said upon the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between his ministry and PT PLN in Bali on Monday.

In 2019, 1,667 villages in the country, mainly in Papua, covering 258,252 households did not have access to electricity, data from the ministry  shows.

Iskandar said he hopes that PLN will be able to increase and support rural electrification in the near future, especially in outermost, remote, and underdeveloped (3T) areas, without delay.

PLN president director Zulkifli Zaini expressed his support for the ministry’s  program by increasing the availability of electricity infrastructure in villages and meeting the electricity needs for BUMDes and BUMDes Bersama.

According to him, the availability of electricity will significantly support improving the quality of life and people’s economy in rural areas.

“We are committed to helping empower rural communities throughout Indonesia,” he remarked.

Source: Antara News