Padang, (Antaranews Sumbar) - West Sumatra Governor, Irwan Prayitno considers that the only solution for the availability of electricity in Mentawai Islands Districtis the diesel power plant (PLTD) with the help of government subsidies.
"The province of Bangka Belitung is an archipelago, the electrification ratio is 100 percent, the electricity comes from PLTD with the State Budget. Then in Mentawai, we hope it can be like that too," he said in Padang on Thursday.
He said it was related to development constraints in Mentawai, one of them because there is not enough electricity availablility.
During this time, electricity in Mentawai produced 37 power plants, some of them come from the help from Ministry of ESDM and some others are part of local government.
However, based on information, in the field of PLTS, it is not very effective, although it could boost Mentawai electrification ratio to 43.6 percent.
Meanwhile, the new biomass power plant (bamboo) started in March 2017 with a grant funding through Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) of Indonesia worth US$12.4 million with PT Charta Putra Indonesia (CPI) developer.
Currently, one of the three biomass power plants has been built.
"If the electricity is not available, it is difficult to release Mentawai from the backward status, therefore the development of diesel power plant in the district must be implemented immediately," he added. (cha)