By: Arsenio Bagas Pamungkas)*
Christmas and New Year holidays (Nataru) are always a moment that many people look forward to. However, this moment also often brings its own challenges, especially in terms of mobility and smooth transportation flow. For that, the government guarantees the readiness of infrastructure so that this year’s holiday runs smoothly and safely.
From land, sea, to air transportation, all sectors are strengthened to ensure there are no significant obstacles. This readiness also includes intensive inspection and maintenance of public facilities that have the potential to become traffic congestion points. All of this is to provide comfort for people who will return to their hometowns or travel during the holidays.
PT PLN, as a state-owned company responsible for providing electricity, has prepared various anticipatory steps to deal with the surge in power needs during the Christmas and New Year period.
PLN President Director, Darmawan Prasodjo, emphasized their readiness to support the smooth running of Christmas and New Year celebrations, by preparing sufficient power supply. PLN projects that the peak load during the Christmas and New Year (Nataru) holidays this year will reach 39 Gigawatts. This figure is still far below the power supply capacity they have, which is 53 Gigawatts.
With a power reserve of 14 GW, PLN is confident that it can handle the surge in energy consumption during the holidays. In addition, they also ensure the sufficiency of primary energy from various power sources, both coal, gas, and diesel, which will support electricity throughout Indonesia, including remote areas and 3T.
Darmawan also explained that PLN has formed a special team or “special force” that is on standby during Christmas and New Year, with a total of 81,591 personnel spread across 1,853 posts throughout Indonesia. This team is equipped with complete equipment such as generators, Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPS), and Mobile Substations (UGB). In addition, to anticipate extreme weather, PLN is digitizing power plants and distribution systems, so that they can respond quickly if disruptions occur.
PLN has prepared 2,490 Public Electric Vehicle Charging Stations (SPKLU) spread across 1,745 strategic locations throughout Indonesia to support the smooth mobility of electric vehicles. This is a significant step, considering that more and more people are choosing to use electric vehicles for homecoming or vacations.
Especially for the Trans Java and Trans Sumatra routes, PLN has prepared 500 SPKLUs spread across 297 locations. Thus, people who use electric vehicles will find it easier to access charging points along the homecoming route.
On the other hand, the Coordinating Ministry for Human Development and Culture (Kemenko PMK) also held a coordination meeting with related ministries and institutions to discuss the readiness of toll road infrastructure services and rest area facilities. Deputy for Coordination of Improving the Quality of Education and Religious Moderation, Warsito, emphasized the importance of collaboration between sectors to anticipate the surge in vehicles during the Nataru holidays.
One of the steps taken is to optimize toll road services, such as regulating goods vehicles, implementing contraflow, and adding officers in the field. In addition, the use of traffic radar and CCTV technology is also involved to monitor traffic flow in real time, so that more efficient arrangements can be made.
Not only that, attention is also given to the management of rest areas which are important points for travelers. Warsito highlighted the importance of providing health posts, adequate toilet facilities, and the availability of clean water, especially for the comfort of women and people with disabilities. In addition, rest areas will also be equipped with information officers who will be on standby 24 hours, providing assistance and information related to the trip.
On the other hand, the Ministry of Transportation (Kemenhub) emphasized that transportation infrastructure has been well prepared to support smooth transportation operations during the Christmas and New Year holidays. Minister of Transportation, Dudy Purwagandhi, stated that the results of the evaluation and survey showed that transportation infrastructure, ranging from land, sea, air, to train transportation, is ready to face the surge in passengers during Nataru.
The Ministry of Transportation has prepared various strategic policies, such as providing parking pockets, buffer zones at ports, and implementing a contra flow system to overcome congestion on land routes.
In order to support smooth travel, the Ministry of Transportation has also prepared various facilities for land transportation, such as 32,130 buses with a capacity of 1.2 million passengers, and 113 type A terminals that will serve travelers. For sea transportation, 764 ships with a capacity of 60 thousand passengers are provided, while air transportation is prepared with 417 aircraft with a capacity of 8 million passengers.
In addition, the Ministry of Transportation also held a free homecoming program to reduce the potential for accidents and traffic congestion, by providing 38,772 seats for passengers and 2,320 motorbikes.
Dudy also emphasized the importance of synergy between the central and regional governments, as well as other related ministries and institutions to ensure smooth Christmas and New Year transportation. Good coordination is needed, both in terms of policy, socialization to the community, and supervision in the field. With the support of all parties, the government is confident that it can provide optimal services for people who will travel to celebrate the end of year holidays.
Christmas and New Year holidays are always awaited moments. With optimal infrastructure preparation, homecoming trips, religious activities, or simply spending time at home can be done without significant disruption. Let us celebrate with gratitude and solemnity, while continuing to maintain the values of togetherness and tolerance.
)* Persada Institute