1 October 2020

Good news, the governor of Bali, I Wayan Koster announced a new regional general energy policy and planning (RUED) at Denpasar on Monday, 28 September 2020. This regulation mainly intended to control the current energy management while gradually switching to cleaner and nature-friendly energy sources.

Today, Bali still depends on the supply from outside channel like Paiton-East Java for the extra of 340 MW, due to local energy plants from Buleleng, Jembrana and Denpasar only produce 921.2 MW; while the island needs at least 1,261.2 MW and could be more during high-season travel on July and December. If the authority doesn’t make a significant breakthrough soon, Bali certainly will suffer an energy crisis by 2021. To date, many people in secluded areas in Bali still struggling to get a decent electricity supply due to very limited sources and the minimum availability of electricity infrastructure as the geographical conditions of the island are mostly mountainous and coastal areas.

Bali provincial government is currently mapping the clean energy potential available in each region. Alternative energy, such as sunlight, rivers, waterfalls, wind, geothermal, bioenergy, ocean energy, and Hydrogen are available quite abundantly all over the island. However, it is quite a challenge for Bali to be able to provide the technology of clean electricity for the whole island independently. Therefore, the governor has mentioned if the program will take at least three decades, from 2020 to 2050. “With the implementation of Provincial Regulations No. 9/2020 concerning on regional general energy policy and planning (RUED), the Province of Bali has created some guidelines to develop and utilize energy in the regions in 2020-2050, to make Bali independently produce its own clean energy,”

Responding to this policy, environmental observer Dr I Made Sudarma, M.S, appreciate the decision that has been made by the local government. According to him, this could be a good start to preserve the environment and harmony in the island of gods. He also suggested the use of waste as an environmentally friendly alternative energy, but he also mentioned that this method is very costly.