June 1, 2024 − The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM), through the Directorate General of Oil and Gas, continues to encourage the Indonesian households to use natural gas through the natural gas network (Jargas) program.
Director of Oil and Gas Engineering and Environment at the ESDM Ministry, Noor Arifin Muhammad, said that the use of natural gas for the Jargas program can reduce the use of LPG gas.
“We can utilize domestic gas production as a substitute for LPG, as well as reduce imports and subsidies,” he said when inspecting one of the houses included in the Jargas program in Semarang, Central Java, on May 31, 2024.
Going forward, Noor Arifin hopes that the jargas program can be expanded more widely and its penetration can be more massive, considering that using natural gas is in line with the roadmap initiated by the government in terms of the transition to clean energy.
He said further that the Directorate General of Oil and Gas will always support the security and safety aspects of the jargas program, both for the customer and the company working on the jargas project.
“We always support the network and installation in terms of safety and operations so that it is safe and reliable. We also support the builders of this jargas, in this case [State-owned gas distribution company] PGN,” he said.
Meanwhile, Director of Infrastructure and Technology of PT PGN, Harry Budi Sidharta, said that jargas is a program that provides a better energy alternative to the community, because it is more environmentally friendly and cheaper.
“Jargas is also more reliable energy in terms of availability for the community in carrying out daily activities,” he said.
Harry said that PGN has a target of up to 250,000 jargas connections per year, with a total target of 4 million connections within the next five years.
“We hope that the jargas connection can improve the community’s economy, and the community can enjoy clean energy more affordably,” he concluded.
