REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, KUTA -- The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (KESDM) continues to encourage natural gas as the fuel to generate electricity in the future.

At a national gas stakeholders' seminar held in Kuta, Bali, on Monday, Director General of Oil and Gas of KESDM Wiratmadja Puja stated that Indonesia's huge gas potential must be able to fulfill its electricity needs.

"Around 14 percent of Indonesian people have no access to electricity. The about 40 million figure is small as compared to the country's population reaching 250 million. That is a lot," he pointed out.

Based on his opinion, if the government could focus on natural gas as a resource to generate electricity, it would support the realization of the 35 thousand megawatts (MW) power plants' project.

As part of the project to set up power plants with a total capacity of 35 thousand MW by 2019, 20 thousand MW will be generated using coal, 13 thousand MW using gas, and 3.7 thousand MW using renewable resources.

"The target is to use one thousand MMSCFD, or generate 13 thousand MW using gas as fuel. That is the allocation for the industry and also for power plants," he noted.

With the utilization of natural gas, it is expected that Indonesia, regardless of day or night, will be the "same," he explained.

"We can see Indonesia only in the daytime, but during nighttime, it is only the Java and Bali (Island) as only those two islands have electricity. It is a challenge to build (electricity) infrastructure, facilities, and a system, so that Indonesia could be seen even during the nighttime," Wiratmadja emphasized.

He explained that increasing the role of natural gas to constantly meet Indonesia's electricity needs is a major challenge.

Hence, the main aspect is to change the paradigm of natural gas. It is not only a commodity that helps to generate income for the country but can also help to boost the nation's economy.

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