Govt to give free rice cookers to electrify cooking
In light of soaring energy prices and electricity oversupply, the government continues to look for ways to electrify cooking. Previously, the state-owned electricity company (PLN) failed miserably with its electric stove conversion program, abruptly stopping it midway due to rejection. This time around, the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry is trying its luck with rice cookers.
The energy ministry’s acting electricity secretary-general Dadan Kusdiana during a public discussion forum with House of Representatives Commission VII, which oversees energy, proposed an idea of giving 680,000 units of rice cookers to families in the Social Affairs Ministry’s list of social assistance beneficiaries (KPM). The estimated cost of the program is Rp 340 billion (US$22 million).
According to a number of studies conducted by the ministry, cooking rice takes up 2.4 kilograms of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), which costs Rp 16,800 per month using the subsidized 3-kilogram LPG. Meanwhile, cooking rice with electric rice cookers only uses 5.25 kilowatt-hour (kWh) per month and 19.80 kWh to keep the rice warm, costing Rp 10,396 per month. Therefore, the rice cooker conversion program could save up to Rp 6,404 in household expense per month.
From the government budget perspective, the Rp 340 billion program could save Rp 52.5 billion in energy subsidy. In addition, the LPG consumption reduction is estimated at 19.6 thousand tonnes, saving the foreign exchange by $26.88 million.
The government is still discussing with the House regarding the urgency and effectiveness of the program. So far, there has been no major political backlash since the use of rice cookers has been widely adopted, unlike the electric stove. However, analysts still question the effectiveness of the program since they deem the amount of energy saved as inconsequential.
The energy ministry’s plan to electrify cooking is an implementation of its strategy to reach net-zero emissions as stipulated in the report written in collaboration with the International Energy Agency (IEA) titled An Energy Sector Roadmap to Net Zero Emissions in Indonesia.
The road map prioritizes energy efficiency, renewables in the electricity sector and the electrification of transportation and cooking as the strategies to reach net-zero by 2060. However, renewable energy development in the country still falls behind. Therefore, should the rice cooking conversion program take off, most of the electricity will mostly be powered by coal for years to come.
About two months ago, PLN had to abruptly cancel its electric stove conversion program, just days after it had begun a trial of 2,000 beneficiaries in Denpasar, Bali, and Surakarta, Central Java. The decision was taken following political backlash as PLN adopted the program without consulting with the House of Representatives.
House Commission VII questioned if the program had been coordinated with state-owned oil and gas company Pertamina, which is responsible for distributing subsidized 3-kilogram gas canisters to millions of poor households. Moreover, they also questioned the legal basis for the conversion as there is no regulation adopted by the government to support the program.
In the end, PLN president director Darmawan Prasodjo said PLN had decided to cancel its electric stove conversion program to “maintain people’s comfort” as the economy recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic, adding that the company also guaranteed that there would be no electricity price hike until the year-end. (Read: PLN cancels electric stove conversion program after political backlash)
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