THE COST ANALYSIS OF SUSTAINABLE ELECTRIFICATION Study Case: Community-Based Micro Hydro in Cibuluh Village, Mt. Simpang Nature Reserve

• Main Author: Lionata, Hilda
• Format: Theses
• Language: Indonesia
• Online Access: https://digilib.itb.ac.id/gdl/view/34981
• Institution: Institut Teknologi Bandung

Indonesia is blessed with high potential of 75,000MW hydro power (Public Work Ministry, 2011). To utilize the potential of hydro power in rural areas, forest must be conserved to provide hydrological services. Forest on Java island, suffers decrease the most when its area is reduced from 5,070 million hectares in 1950 to only 897,978 ha in 2009 (www.fwi.org). The nature of archipelago and widely spread villages brings challenges, especially in term of electrification. There are 14.5 out of 43.5 million households without electrification (The Worldbank, 2005). Providing electricity and ensuring sustainable electrification in rural area is two different things. Forty four of 80 on-grid and 111 of 180 off-grid micro hydro in Indonesia is no longer operating (Budiono, 2003). Many stories of micro hydro constructions end up as developmental monument in Indonesia. Community needs to be prepared for developing micro hydro. Environmental and social aspects held key roles for a sustainable community-based, rural electrification, thus it is become necessary to internalize the cost of these two aspects. This study is geared to find out the actual cost of hydro power development by internalizing environment and social costs, the electricity cost price is and the price community pays currently. Thus, a management scheme for sustainable electrification from a community-based micro hydro can be offered. One community-based micro hydro in Cibuluh village, uniquely located inside Mt. Simpang Nature Reserve and guarded by a community-based conservation group called Raksabumi is chosen as study site. By 2012, the micro hydro in Cibuluh village will be 6 years old and is still operating. The ecological aspect of forest services in ensuring water availability for the micro hydro is valuated through Contingent Valuation (CV) and Productivity Methods. Primary data was collected from 40 respondents for CV and 2 referred respondents for Productivity Method. Data of social and technical valuation is collected using methodological triangulation. Preliminary visit to Cibuluh village was conducted on May 19-22nd, 2010 and the second visit was done on July 24-28th, 2010. The valuation of forest service that ensures water availability in Cibuluh from CV and Productivity Method is 8,880,000/year and 6,624,000 rupiah/year respectively, 15,504,000 million/year in total in year 2010. The value from year 2004 to 2010 is 85,221,951 IDR. This value also reflects community appreciation to forests conservation effort that has been done by Raksabumi. Social aspect valuated through triangulation method shared 43% of the total budget, 268,965,000 IDR. Total technical cost in constructing micro hydro is 235,000,000 IDR. The total actual cost of 20 kW Cibuluh micro hydro development by integrating all three aspects is 556,746,951 IDR by year 2010. Thus the cost price to produce electricity by year 2010 is 1,000 IDR/kW. The longer micro hydro can operate up until its service time, the cost price decreases. The cost to produce 1 kW of electricity from micro hydro in Cibuluh is more expensive than State Electricity Company/PLN (415- 1,330 IDR/kW) and community purchase power in Cibuluh (450 IDR/kW), meaning there is subsidy. Micro hydro is predicted to be able to ensure electrification until its service time with the existing social capital. Innovation and technological development of traditional water wheel within community should be further studied to ensure sustainable electrification in remote areas.