This project is a documentary and research project situated in Indonesia. The project background is as follows: the government of Indonesia is committed to ensuring 100% of energy access for all citizens by 2025. As of 2021, the ratio of electrified villages and urban centers has reached 99%. However, there is a lack of framework and study to identify the energy poverty of informal communities, especially street vendors who operate on the street.

In the project, marginalized urban communities are defined as the informal sector workers operating businesses on the street, or the street vendor communities. This project took place in the Indonesian cities of Jakarta and Bogor. The Indonesian capital city Jakarta is selected because Jakarta is home to the largest street vendor communities in Indonesia. Bogor is a satellite city close to Jakarta with strong environmental programs administered by the Mayor. Both have the unique characteristic of urban areas and have been the target for the urbanization of populations residing in rural areas.

In 2016, the government launched Electricity Charging Stations (ECS) which are partly powered by solar panels to help street vendors retrieve legal electricity. Previously they were dependent on an unsustainable connection, such as to nearby houses, using an emergency lamp or diesel generators that cause significant air pollution and emit hazardous smoke. With a prime emphasis on fieldwork, the main purpose of this project is to analyze how and why ECS contributes to overcoming injustices inflicted on the urban informal sector community in regard to electricity distribution. The secondary purpose is to reveal the community’s perspective on the values of renewable energy.

The methodologies used in this project were semi-structured interviews with street vendor representatives, participant observation, and documentation. The interviews were structured as follows: the first section listed the demographics of the interview respondents, including age, name, monthly income, and average monthly electricity payment. The second section asks about their knowledge and awareness of Electricity Charging Stations, and whether they find the facilities useful. The last section asks about their renewable energy knowledge and their definition of justice. Semi-structured interviews are useful to note any marked similarities and differences between the interviews. The interviews took place in several stages: The first stage is between April-May 2020, September 2020, June and September 2022. The interviews were with 28 respondents and participant observation with 10 respondents. The interviews and participant observations were conducted in ten locations in Jakarta and Bogor:
- Jakarta: Taman Bakti, Blok S, Blok M, Meruya, Melawai
- Bogor: Air Mancur, Jembatan Merah, Bubulak, Taman Heulang, Sukasari

The documentary begin production in June 2021, and finalised in August 2022.

The main research questions of this project are: how and why ECS overcome distributional injustices in the electricity sector? What lessons are learned and what are policy recommendations for the government? This project was conducted between March 2020 to January 2023.
The interview data were analyzed using content analysis using a constructivist approach, or construction of reality based on the interview respondents. In each interview section, the project representative finds similarities and differences in respondents’ awareness and knowledge of electricity charging stations, renewable energy and the definition of justice.

This project also includes a workshop inviting representatives from the government of Indonesia, the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, the State Electricity Company and the small business community association Jakpreneur. During the talk show, the guest speakers discussed Indonesia’s renewable energy future and most importantly, about the use of renewable energy for small business communities.

The main objective of this project is to examine the energy survival of urban informal communities, particularly street vendors communities in the cities of Jakarta and Bogor, Indonesia, and learn from the lived energy poverty experience for the better design and implementation of public policy in the context of providing electricity as basic public good and service. In regard to the outcomes accomplished from this project, there are several main outcomes. The first is to empower urban informal sector groups to play a greater role in the electricity system and establish greater energy justice. In regards to this particular outcome, the project found that there are limitations for the urban informal sector communities' involvement in electricity sector decision-making, mainly because energy policymaking is conducted in a top-down manner.

They can, however, demand more installation of electricity charging station facilities in their areas of operation in order to make better electricity access. From the interview with a representative from the State Electricity Company, it was also found that there is poor information dissemination that makes a gap between knowledge and practice. Information about electricity charging stations conveyed by the State Electricity company can create an understanding for the street vendor communities about the safe use of electricity.

Moreover, for the government maintaining energy price stability means protecting the poor and vulnerable. However, this concept covers electricity usage for the residential, commercial, and business sectors without taking into account the informal sector which comprises almost 60% of the Indonesian economy. The informal sector, here defined as street vendors whose income fluctuate, get electricity service from informal, sometimes illegal ways through diesel or power generator. Thus, the principles of availability, security, and sustainability of the energy justice dimension should be addressed in energy decision-making.

The second outcome of the project aims to reveal the community’s perspective on the values of renewable energy in particular solar energy. For this particular outcome, it seemed that most of the street vendors interviewed were not aware of renewable energy. Although some of the ECS use solar panels to generate electricity, the respondents participating in this study did not have an understanding of solar energy or its environmental benefits in comparison with fossil-based energy sources, indicating low awareness of environmental matters in this targeted group. This shows the potential to educate street vendors about the importance of renewable energy and sustainable aspects of solar panel systems in comparison with the traditional power grid. When the project representative had discussions with the street vendors about clean energy, they were very enthusiastic about how it can add value to their products. For example, juice that is blended with electricity powered by solar power can be good marketing. The ripple effect is that renewable energy can be developed as new values for street vendor communities through public campaigns led by the government. Such activities can then create a demand for solar panels or renewable energy use in the electricity system.

Another important issue is that, when the solar panels used in ECS have reached their end of lifetime, these photovoltaic panels will either be thrown away to an open landfill or recycled. A government representative stated that they have yet to regulate the disposal of solar panels. Ultimately, landfill disposal will create injustice for communities living in nearby areas. Addressing this problem may alleviate the impact of existing vulnerabilities on these communities.

The third outcome, policy recommendations for the government were discussed during the talk show and interview with government representatives. The findings of the study were the need for regular and stable power supply and cleaner energy sources. The project proposed that the government have more active discussions with street vendor communities about the use of electricity charging stations. Some members of community groups seemed to encounter technical difficulties when using the stations. To be able to connect to the stations, users are required to purchase electricity vouchers at nearby convenience stores or via mobile banking. The purchase mechanisms of electricity should be made simpler, which will provide vendors with greater business security. Other policy recommendations include information deployment on solar panels and inviting the participation of the communities in electricity decision-making, for example on where to install the electricity charging stations, and subsidy for purchasing the tokens.

• 報告 2022/10/01 - 2022/10/01　Renewable energy for a better future

• Energy Survival of the Marginalized Communities in Indonesia | Documentary（D19-R-0042）
• Injustice ＆ Environmental Harm in Extractive Industries & Solar Energy Policies（D19-R-0042）

• 2022/10/04　Berita Satu　Pengembangan Energi Bersih Harus Sejalan dengan Prinsip Berkeadilan

• Exploring the energy survival of street vendor communities in Indonesian cities of Bogor and Jakarta

プログラム名（Program）	2019 研究助成 Research Grant Program
助成番号（Grant Number）	D19-R-0042
題目（Project Title）	周縁化された人々のエネルギーサバイバル ―ジャカルタとボゴールにおける都市インフォーマルセクターの充電スタンドに関する事例研究 Energy Survival of the Marginalised: Case Study of Electric Charging Station for Urban Informal Sector in Jakarta and Bogor
代表者名（Representative）	ディニタ・セティアワッティ / Dinita Setyawati
代表者所属（Organization）	京都大学大学院地球環境学堂 Graduate School of Global Environmental Study, Kyoto University
助成金額（Grant Amount）	￥1,200,000
リンク（Link）
活動地域（Area）