A Long Dream of State Electricity
This year, residents of Cisoka hamlet, Citengah village, Sumedang regency, West Java, have been without electricity for 34 years. Although they are used to the darkness, they hope electricity will reach their village soon.
After sunset on Friday (9/8/2019), Cisoka hamlet rested in darkness and it was cold like midnight even though it was just seven o’clock in the evening. The crickets chirped in the half-moonlight.
However, people live in harmony in the village. At the house of Adim, 54, a number of residents chatted warmly. The discussion was about disasters, ranging from the earthquake in Banten to the eruption of Mount Tangkuban Parahu.
Unfortunately, there was nothing new in their talk as the information they had received was already out of date. "I knew there was an earthquake early in the morning when I took the children to school. There, residents from other hamlets were busy talking about the earthquake," said Alit, 35, one of the residents conversing in Adim\'s house.
Alit\'s expression provoked laughter among his companions. The laughter did not last long. A LED lamp, the only source of lighting in Adim\'s house that night faded, almost died, causing them to worry.
"Perhaps some people are charging their mobile phones or the current of the water has slowed and cannot turn the water wheel," Adim said with a wry smile. Tucked among plantations in the Gunung Buligir mountain, Cisoka hamlet was established in 1985.
The residents in the hamlet are mostly tea plantation workers from Bandung and Cianjur regencies. There are 74 people in the hamlet, living in 19 houses, mostly made of wood and bamboo.
If there was no tea plantation, Cisoka would not be an ideal place to live. The contours of the hills rise and fall steeply. The asphalt road leading to the hamlet is cracked. The conditions get worse when there is rain. Although only 195 kilometers from Jakarta, Cisoka is still difficult to reach.
Given the conditions, state-owned electricity company PLN has not been able to connect the hamlet. The area has never been provided with state electricity. The closest electricity pole is about 3 kilometers from the nearest residence. As a result, not many electronic devices can be used by residents. The hustle and bustle of information and the rapid development of technology have not reached the hamlet.
Taking advantage of the river
With such limitations, the villagers have become creative. In 2003, Adim, a former resident of Cisewu, Garut regency, became a pioneer by making a simple hydropower generator using a waterwheel. Adim installed a simple electrical installation at his house. The water supply is obtained from the Cipaku River which flows through the village. "The waterwheel is made from a 40-centimeter diameter hardwood rod, equipped with a used motorcycle dynamo. It uses old telephone cable to connect the electricity, he said.
Adim\'s success encouraged residents to work together to make similar waterwheels. In addition to the Cipaku, residents also use the Sabeulit River to turn their waterwheels.
There are 12 waterwheels at the hamlet now, providing electricity to the residents\' homes. During the rainy season when water is abundant, residents can turn on the television and seven LED lights up to 400 watts simultaneously for 24 hours, for free.
In order to keep the water flowing, residents guard the forest area. They have planted trees and forbidden anyone cutting down trees around a spring near a river. However, the waterwheels in Cisoka have a weakness. Ida Suparman, 60, another resident, said that as it depends on nature, the electricity supply has never been stable. During the rainy season, the swift river water flow can damage the dynamo.
Silt deposits can disrupt the flow of water to the wheel. This gets worse during the dry season, like now. As the flow of water reduces, out of 12 wheels, only six can be operated. Each house can only turn on a 5-watt LED light, said Ida.
The hydro power generators are actually not the only source of electricity in Cisoka. Residents received aid in the form of dozens of rooftop solar panels in 2004. However, none of them is now functioning as their batteries can no longer be used. If residents want to buy a new one, they must spend Rp 800,000 per unit, equivalent to one third of their monthly income as tea pickers.
With the electricity shortage, Agus Kusnadi, 40, another resident, has no choice but to remain patient. The problem is that the future of the children is at stake. Because of the lack of electricity, they will have the same fate like their parents, who only graduated from elementary school and ended up as low-income tea pickers.
Approaching the 74th anniversary of the birth of the Republic of Indonesia, many areas of West Java are still without electricity. PLN’s general manager for West Java distribution, Andoko Suyono said Cisoka was part of the 0.01 percent of West Java that is without electricity. He said this year all of West Java would be electrified.In the living room of Adim that night, the light grew dim. However, Alit\'s story about the power outages in Jakarta, West Java and Banten on Aug. 4 rewarmed the atmosphere.
"We are not affected because here electricity is supplied by a water wheel. That night, it seemed that for the first time Cisoka was brighter than the city," Alit said, laughing along with the other residents.
The limitations of the situation may indeed have triggered Cisoka\'s creativity in achieving light. However, it is the duty of the state to provide equal services to all citizens, including the provision of electricity.