UNDP Introduce the Community Center Approach to Improve Clean Energy Utilization

Starting on 7 March, local operators from East Nusa Tenggara, Southeast Sulawesi, West Sulawesi, and Central Kalimantan will meet in Jakarta to close capability gaps through training and certification programs for communal power plant management. PPSDM KEBTKE, The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, will host the training in their training centre at Ciracas, East Jakarta.

The activity serves as an event for local operators of four provinces to strengthen their role in the newest UNDP clean energy initiative. Fifty people from those provinces, including 23 women, will gain new knowledge and skills in operating and maintaining communal solar-PV power plants (PLTS). The 14-day event is the first training series, following the operator recruitment and selection process activities at 23 villages that have received support from the ACCESS Project since October 2021. 

In 2021, UNDP launched the Accelerating Clean Energy Access to Reduce Inequality initiative called ACCESS. The initiative aims to support the poor and most vulnerable communities in Indonesia and Timor-Leste to have equitable and sustainable access to essential services for improving their livelihoods. In Indonesia, the Project will provide 23 communal solar-PV power plants with a total installed capacity of 1.2MW, operated, maintained, and managed by the community.

The training and certification program of the local community as the operator is one critical success for the project sustainability, said Imas Agustina, Technical Officer for Capacity Building of the ACCESS Project. "Through the program, we want to ensure that communities in 23 villages have the required capacity to manage the power plants by themselves." The presence of local operators is essential since many communal power plants in the country last less than two years due to the unavailability of proper operation and maintenance.

The operators, supported by ACCESS, will receive training on solar-PV power plant systems & components, electricity generation process, solar-PV power plant operation, maintenance, and troubleshooting.

Open Selection and Recruitment

Ensuring the project sustainability has been the priority, even beginning from the local operator selection and recruitment process. The ACCESS Project facilitated the community to conduct a fair, transparent, and voluntary recruitment process by emphasizing the community's ownership of the infrastructure and the essential role and responsibility of the local operators.

Each village developed an Ad-hoc committee to select the operator's candidate through an open recruitment scheme. A total of 127 people (35% female) from 23 villages voluntarily applied; 115 people (36% female) passed the initial selection as local operator candidates (5 people per village), and 46 operators (50% female) were selected to be trained and certified in 2022.

"The open recruitment process provided the public with the importance of a transparent and objective process in recruiting employees." Said Marselinus Tanggu, Head of Eka Pata Village in East Nusa Tenggara. The community has capable and trusted operators to run and manage the infrastructure through this process. 

Women and Clean Energy 

The Project also promotes women's participation in the Project. Twenty-three out of 46 operators are women. "Thank you for involving us – women in the community – in the ACCESS project. It is a great tribute to us as a woman," said Mariana M. Robaka, Head of BUMDes of Eka Pata Village. Gender equality and social inclusion have been a strong focus of the projects and delivered through various ACCESS Project activities. Mathilde Sari, the National Project Manager, highlighted the "urgency" of accelerating this plan, saying, "gender balance is our priority, and it's more than a numbers issue."

"There is abundant evidence that shows how women's participation improves clean energy utilization," she explained.

The 46 operators are now preparing their first journey to ensure their village has proper access to electricity and improves people's lives. "It feels good to have PLTS. PLTS is my dream, and that is all the villagers. And now, after a long time, our prayers are answered." Said Wulan, a selected operator from Wangkolabu Village, Southeast Sulawesi.

Author: Salman Nursiwan, Monitoring and Outreach ACCESS Project