VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The National Energy Council (DEN) has called on offices to set up charging stations for electric vehicles.

Electric vehicles can lower air pollution, fossil fuel consumption, and oil imports, Djoko Siswanto, DEN Secretary General noted in a statement in Jakarta on Sunday.

"The rationale behind using electric vehicles is to realize a cleaner environment, curb air pollution, curtail fossil oil consumption, and lessen imports. DEN urges all electric car producers to begin production of the vehicles now," he remarked.

To support the initiative to use electric vehicles, every office should provide electric sockets or public electric vehicle charging stations (SPKLUs) at parking lots for charging batteries.

"Every office is advised to build electric sockets at motorcycle parking lots. For motorbikes, charging a vehicle battery at home or office is sufficient. Each takes around four hours to charge and can suffice for five day trips from home to office and vice versa," he explained.

The government issued Presidential Regulation No. 55 of 2019 on the Acceleration of Battery Electric Vehicle Program for Road Transportation that had come into effect since August 12, 2019.

Development of the domestic electric vehicle industry will be expedited in accordance with the regulation. Furthermore, it encourages incentives, charging station infrastructure development, and special electricity tariffs for battery charging, as well as environmental preservation.

The regulation also pushes for energy efficiency, security, and conservation in the transportation sector, clean energy usage, air quality improvement, and the realization of Indonesia’s commitment to lowering greenhouse gas emissions.

In the meantime, the Agency for Technology Assessment and Application (BPPT) had earlier echoed that electric vehicles would pick up steam in Indonesia, with more charging stations being set up nationwide.

The agency had held the Indonesia Electric Motor Show (IEMS) 2019 on Sept 4-7 in Jakarta to promote the use of electric vehicles in the country.

"The IEMS 2019 is initiated by BPPT to offer a broader understanding to the public in Indonesia on electric vehicles as a new form of disruptive technology," BPPT Head Hammam Riza remarked at the opening of the exhibition in Jakarta. (ANTARA)