Date: 15 May 2023
On May 15, 2023, the IEEE R10 Director Prof. Lance Fung accompanied by several officers from the IEEE R10 and Indonesia Section visited the headquarter of PT PLN, the state-owned electricity company in Indonesia. The IEEE team of seven people was received by the PLN Vice President for Energy Transition Mr. Anindita Satria Surya, who was accompanied by two PLN staff members. The main agenda was exchange of information and ideas on electric power generation technologies and strategies toward reducing the carbon footprint. In particular, the IEEE offered possible collaboration in the form of providing the knowledge on renewable energy and energy transition available in various IEEE scientific publications and assisting in execution of training for the PLN staff members, which might involve experts from the IEEE Indonesia Power and Energy Society Chapter or other relevant chapters. In response, Mr. Anindita explained the strategy and steps taken by PLN in energy transition, aiming at reaching net-zero emission in 2060. Both parties agreed to look at mutually beneficial collaborations in the future.
On the same day, the IEEE team had an informal meeting with Dr. Denny Setiawan who represented the Electrical Engineering Board of the Association of Indonesian Engineers (BKE-PII), which expressed a desire to work together with the IEEE Indonesia Section. Such collaboration can be beneficial to both sides, especially in strengthening the position and professional activities of Indonesian electrical engineers.
In a separate statement, Prof. Fung expressed his appreciation towards the Indonesia Section that have successfully built and maintained relation and engagement with both the industries and the government, a feat that is difficult to achieve in many other Sections. The Region 10 Director proposed a further idea as a follow-up of the meetings, namely, to initiate a round-table discussion among Section Chairs in the Southeast Asia region on the climate change effects mitigation, which later might involve the national governments in the region.