Pertamina NRE Turns on New Light for Cilamaya Fishermen

Karawang — Small fishermen in Muara Village, Cilamaya Wetan District, Karawang Regency now no longer have difficulty in the dark of night when fishing in the sea. Their ships are equipped with solar-powered lights which are part of the Pertamina New & Renewable Energy (Pertamina NRE) Independent Energy Village (DEB) program. This program was inaugurated on Tuesday (4/11) by Pertamina NRE CEO John Anis.

This inauguration was also attended by the Main Director of PT Jawa Satu Power (JSP) Dwi Murray, the Head of Cilamaya Wetan Subdistrict Ade Setiawan, the Head of Muara Village Iyos Rosita, the Head of the Muara Budiman Village fishermen group. Muara Village is one of the villages located close to the JSP operational area.

Through this program, 46 small fishing boats in Muara Village now use solar-powered lighting (PLTS) with a capacity of 150 Watts. So far, these fishermen only use flashlights as lighting when going to sea at night.

Using PLTS for lighting is equivalent to saving 1-2 liters of fuel per night, or the equivalent of more than 20,000 liters of fuel per year if fishermen use fuel for lighting. Thus contributing to a reduction in carbon emissions of around 45 tonnes of CO₂ per year, equivalent to planting more than 2,000 new trees.

According to John Anis, CEO of Pertamina NRE in business, Pertamina’s main goal at all operating locations is always to provide benefits. “a kind of ‘giving back’, we cannot possibly do business alone, we still need local support, and with harmony that synergy occurs,” said John Anis.

Pertamina NRE also provides education and training on PLTS maintenance to fishermen, so that this system can be used sustainably. This knowledge sharing-based approach is expected to make coastal communities more independent in managing their own energy sources.

One of the beneficiaries, Rudi (45), expressed how big a change he felt:

“Thank God, now when you go to sea you only need 1 liter of fuel, which can last for 4 days because you already use lights from PLTS. Hopefully in the future all the fishermen here will be able to use it, especially for bigger ships so they can add lights.”

For Pertamina NRE, the story of the fishermen in Muara Village is a reflection of an inclusive and just energy transition where clean technology is not only owned by big industry, but also provides direct benefits to grassroots communities.

The activation ceremony which was held in the Fish Auction Place (TPI) area of ​​Muara Village was also attended by the CEO of Jawa Satu Power Dwi Murray, the Head of Muara Village Iyos Rosita, the beneficiaries, as well as local media.

With the spirit of sustainability to support Net Zero Emission 2060, Pertamina NRE is committed to continuing to provide Independent Energy Villages throughout Indonesia providing clean energy that not only lights the lights, but also ignites people’s hopes.

About Pertamina New & Renewable Energy

Pertamina New & Renewable Energy (PNRE) is a subholding of Pertamina which is engaged in the business of low carbon emissions, renewable energy and other green energy.