Access to energy remains a concerning challenge for many in Timor-Leste. The centralised nature of the local electricity supply chain has traditionally kept consumers reliant on the national grid to overcome chronic energy shortages. While more than 200,000 households have access to electricity, the Contact online >>
Access to energy remains a concerning challenge for many in Timor-Leste. The centralised nature of the local electricity supply chain has traditionally kept consumers reliant on the national grid to overcome chronic energy shortages. While more than 200,000 households have access to electricity, the distribution network is in poor condition, with excessive voltage drops and persistent service outages. The cost of electricity is also higher than in neighbouring countries, and Timor-Leste has been slow to transition from expensive diesel generation to renewables.
With the new UN reforms, the United Nations in Timor-Leste, under the leadership of the Resident Coordinator has now started lighting the way with its solar-powered grid which has begun to give maximum dividends.
"A project like this goes beyond providing energy. It showcases a value addition to the Government, partners, and stakeholders as to how such initiatives can help create other socio-economic benefits, including employment, greener environment, cheaper energy, and sustainable lifestyles. So, the more we implement such projects, the more we empower our communities and bring impact.
The project also evidences the skillset and expertise to support the country to transition to a more sustainable energy future and supporting the deployment of renewable energy technologies," said UNDP Resident Representative Munkhtuya Altangerel, who is also chair of the UN Operations Management Team.Based on this successful experience, the UN Operations Management Team is now working on upscaling the project and making the UN House, a 100 per cent solar-energy-run compound.
Dan Lee learns about energy poverty, and some of the unique challenges of the transition during a trip to Timor-Leste as part of a delegation of eight students from the University of Queensland''s Master of Sustainable Energy program.
On Australia’s doorstep, a distinct energy narrative is unfolding. The wide-spread destruction of infrastructure by Indonesian militias in 1999 and prior has severely impeded Timor-Leste''s human and economic development for more than two decades.
Despite progress, a significant proportion of the country''s population continues to live in abject poverty. A lack of access to proper nutrition, basic sanitation, health services, safe drinking water, and reliable energy are still evident throughout the country.
Meanwhile, the country''s fledgling economy relies heavily on fleeting offshore oil and gas reserves – with one large untapped field in the Timor Sea at the centre of an international tug-of-war. Aware of the current climate of … climate (pun intended), the country''s President and former Nobel Peace Prize recipient, Jose Ramos-Horta has publicly stated that he would happily leave their fossil fuels under the seafloor if high-income nations increased foreign aid to support the country''s development.
Over seven days in the country our group met with 15 different stakeholders – from the president of the country''s petroleum authority, to the villagers who walk hours to load $5 on to their electricity accounts. We did this in order to understand the dynamics of how the energy transition is affecting one of our closest neighbours.
Timor-Leste (also known as East Timor) sits just an 80-minute flight from Darwin. Once a Portuguese colony in the 16th century, the territory remained under Portuguese rule until 1975, when it was occupied by Indonesian forces. The East Timorese resistance, led by the Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor (FRETILIN), fought against Indonesian rule for 24 years, during which time as many as 200,000 East Timorese were killed.
In 1999, a UN-supervised referendum was held in which its people voted overwhelmingly for independence. After the announcement of the results, pro-Indonesian militias engaged in a campaign of violence and mass destruction, resulting in the deaths of thousands, and the displacement of hundreds of thousands more. Some estimate that more than 80% of the country''s infrastructure was destroyed during this final act of carnage – including hospitals, water facilities and large parts of the country''s electricity network.
The eventual intervention of an international peacekeeping force helped restore order and pave the way for Timor-Leste''s independence. In 2002, the country officially declared independence and remains Asia''s newest sovereign state.
Today Timor-Leste has a population of 1.3 million with a median age of just 19.6 years. The Asian Development Bank reports that 41.8% of the country live below the national poverty line, and 22.6% of its employed population earn below USD 1.90 per day.
The island''s maritime police only have access to the main grid. When the grid is not running, the police station in the north cannot radio to the station on the south of the island as there is also no mobile phone reception. The main hospital for the island also does not have a working backup generator. If you''re in need of medical help on the island after 10pm, the doctors and nurses can only do their work under the light of their phone torches and without any medical equipment that requires electricity.
Back on the mainland, the country''s main electricity grid runs 24 hours a day, except when it doesn''t. Several locals in the mountain town of Maubisse explained that blackouts are common but especially during rain – perhaps the result of a poorly insulated distribution network. Power quality is also an issue. One hotel owner complained of six broken fridges as a result of voltage surges.
Electricity was free in most areas until last year, when the rollout of electrification increased and led the government to install power meters within homes and businesses. The system is prepaid. Residents provide their meter number with payment, and in return receive a code which they then punch into their power meter. Many locals do not have a bank account and some are without internet, which forces them to top-up their meters manually – one man we met walks two to three hours to the nearest town to purchase $5 worth of electricity every month.
The Bayu-Undan field in the Timor Sea is currently the government''s main source of revenue but is slowly winding down production. The Timor-Leste Petroleum Fund was established in 2005 as an attempt to provide a long-term source of revenue for the country after its reserves are fully depleted, intended to replicate the design of Norway''s sovereign wealth fund. The Petroleum Fund''s most recent report from September 2022 showed its balance to be $16.91b, down 11.79% year-on-year – stating that $404m was transferred out of the fund to finance the national budget in Q3 2022 alone.
Our meeting with ANPM (the national petroleum authority) reiterated the Timorese desire to overcome these difficult engineering and commercial challenges in order to boost local jobs and broaden economic benefits. Until now, the prevailing view of their Australian counterparts is that a pipeline to Darwin is the only viable option. A floating LNG plant was a third option previously favoured by operator Woodside but that proposal has also not been pursued thus far.
Last September, the IMF warned that the country faced "the risk of a fiscal cliff" if the Greater Sunrise project was further delayed or if reforms to the country''s petroleum fund were not made. La''o Hamutuk – a Dili-based NGO we visited, monitors the country''s economic progress and also reported concerns over recent and planned withdrawals from the fund to underwrite subsequent budget announcements.
Several humanitarian organisations and other NGOs have funded small-scale solar projects to reduce some communities'' reliance on the electricity grid, and in some rural areas, have provided electricity access for the first time. However, a lack of capital and the skilled workforce needed are obvious barriers to a material uptake for residents and business owners to do so on their own accord.
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