Urgency means the reason a problem needs attention now, not later. In energy topics, the issue is not only "we need more electricity". The issue is whether energy is available when needed, reaches the places that need it, stays reliable, remains affordable, and avoids excessive environmental damage.
Electricity is one of the closest forms of energy to your daily life. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) explains that electricity is a secondary energy source, because it is produced from other energy sources such as fuels, water, wind, sunlight, or geothermal heat. EIA's Electricity Explained page is available at this source link.
So, when we discuss electricity demand, we are actually discussing a long chain.
energy source→energy conversion→grid→energy user
If one part of that chain fails, study lights, water pumps, medical devices, food cooling, and communication networks can be affected too.
One lamp may look simple. However, energy demand becomes large when many devices are used by many people at the same time.
For an electrical device, the energy used can be read from power and usage time.
E=P×t
Symbol notes:
Symbol
Meaning
E
energy used
P
device power
t
usage time
Suppose 5 lamps, each with power 10 W, are turned on for 4 h. The energy used is:
E=5×10 W×4 h=200 Wh=0.2 kWh
The value 0.2 kWh sounds small. But if the same kind of use happens in many homes, schools, clinics, and small businesses, total energy demand grows quickly.
There is also the idea of peak load, which is the moment when many people use electricity at the same time, so the power that the system must provide becomes very large. Two areas may use similar daily energy, but the area where many devices turn on at the same hour can put more pressure on the electricity grid.
Electrification Ratio is the percentage of households with access to electricity. Electrified Village Ratio is the percentage of villages or urban villages that already have electricity.
Indonesia's Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM), through the Directorate General of Electricity, reported that in the fourth quarter of 2024, Indonesia's Electrification Ratio reached 99.83% and its Electrified Village Ratio reached 99.92%. At the same time, ESDM also recorded 5,821 villages or urban villages that had not yet received electricity access from PT PLN (Persero), Indonesia's state electricity company. The Directorate General of Electricity's news page about those ratios is available at this source link.
That data needs careful reading. A very high national number does not mean every remaining location has an easy problem. The places still not served are often difficult, scattered, or far from the main grid.
What a large number can show
What still needs to be checked on the ground
Many households already have electricity access
Whether the electricity is stable when needed
Many villages already have electricity
Whether all hamlets and essential facilities are served
Electricity consumption is rising
Whether generation, grids, and storage are ready enough
The national ratio is nearly complete
Whether remote areas have solutions that match their location
The International Energy Agency (IEA) forecasts global electricity demand to grow at an average annual rate of 3.6% from 2026 to 2030. IEA points to drivers such as industry, electric vehicles, air conditioning, and data centres. IEA's Electricity 2026 executive summary is available at this source link.
Rising demand is not automatically bad. Electricity can support learning, health services, food production, transportation, and small businesses. However, if supply and grids are not ready, rising demand can become blackouts, higher costs, or heavier use of more polluting energy sources.
Think of a school canteen. The canteen can serve many students if the food, cashier, and queue system are ready. If all students come at the same time while the food and cashier are not enough, the problem is not only "there is not enough food". The problem is that the system capacity does not match the timing of demand. In energy, that system includes energy sources, power plants, grids, storage, and usage habits.
Renewable energy is not a magic answer for every place. However, renewable energy matters because many areas have local resources that can be used if the technology matches the site.
Site condition
Source worth investigating
What still needs checking
Strong sunlight
solar energy
weather, roof or land area, batteries, and grid connection
River flow and height difference
small-scale hydropower
water flow, seasons, ecosystems, and safety
Windy coastal area
wind energy
average wind speed and daily variation
Plenty of organic waste
biogas or biomass
feedstock supply and waste management
Near a geothermal area
geothermal energy
geological survey, drilling, and environmental impact
The urgency is not simply choosing the source that sounds most modern. The urgency is finding a way for the needed energy to be truly available, delivered to users, and still reasonable for the local environment and community.
