Indonesia
Maryaidori village, Supiori City, Province of Papua, Indonesia
The total population of Indonesia as of 2016 is 261.1 million and about 20% of the population, making up to a rough estimate of 50 million people are living without electricity.
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50 million people in Indonesia are living without electricity
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80% of electricity is consumed on Java and Bali alone
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Papua poverty rate is 28.16%
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Supiori city poverty rate 39.25% with a village called Maryaidori reaching 62.08%
(Indonesia Poverty map by Province)
Half of this portion of un-electrified people are actually already living in electrified areas that just needs better electricity connection, but a connection is estimated to cost about USD290. Not only is that expensive, it is also time consuming as it requires multiple legal processes (Source: Indonesia Energy Situation)
This leaves about 25 million people relying on kerosene lamps, candles, dry cells and car batteries to satisfy part of their energy needs. Kerosene, when burned in an enclosed space, could produce large amounts of soot and carbon monoxide. These chemical byproducts could pose several health risks including but not limited to asphyxiation, vomiting due to carbon monoxide poisoning and pneumonitis, a severe form of lung injury. In addition, usage of kerosene lamp brings rise to risk of dermatitis (Source: Compendium of Chemical Hazards: Kerosene)
Now, one might think that the electricity shortage and accessibility in Indonesia ain’t so bad as compared to other poverty stricken areas such as India. However, about 80% of electricity is consumed on Java and Bali alone. Meaning to say, only the remaining 20% is left for the other parts of the nation. And that just shows the severity of the power shortage.
Out of all the provinces in Indonesia, the Province of Papua had it the worse, as could be seen from the poverty map provided by Smeru Research Institute. For our expedition to Indonesia, we will focus on Supiori city, specifically in Maryaidori which has a poverty rate of 62.08%.