A Study on Characteristics of Household Electricity Un-subscribers in Indonesia <Article>

Household electricity un-subscribers (HEUS) cause losses to the state owned electricity company or Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) which is an exclusively operating electricity sector in Indonesia. With the results of identification of HEUS under both periods of the targeted subsidy (TS) scheme in 2004 and the public service obligation subsidy (PSO) scheme in 2008, this study tries to estimate potential revenue loss to the PLN caused by the HEUS. Moreover, this paper also aims at further improving the understanding on the characteristics of the HEUS from the aspects of their economic, demographical and geographical location attributes. The comparison results show that they actually share many common characteristics. Furthermore, the results also reflect that more HEUS are located outside the Java Island and particularly in the rural areas, where the PLN services are regarded less efficient and electricity laws are not strictly enforced. In summary, the findings suggest an urgent need for stricter law enforcement and electricity connection regulations to eliminate the HEUS in a hope to improve the PLN's revenue in the future.