TODAY, Thursday, January 30, 2025, the electricity went out in some areas of Lhokseumawe City. My office on Jalan T Ibrahim Agoeng Number 3 Uteunkot, Muara Dua, was also affected. Because of that, since eight in the morning, the office has been dark. Employees who arrived about 30 minutes later said they could not do their activities.
Because the PLN electricity did not come on, two hours later the officers turned on the generator. The use of this machine is indeed very limited. It takes a lot of money to operate this machine.
This large machine has a lot of power. Therefore, turning on this machine is the same as turning on a car engine. We received a loan of a generator from PLN during the implementation of the regional head election stages. Luckily, the engine has not been taken back by the PLN Rayon of Lhokseumawe City.
But because the stages are almost finished, maybe after the plenary session to determine the elected mayor and deputy mayor is finished, they will immediately withdraw the generator.
Turning on a generator this big is not just a matter of cost. Imagine if the PLN electricity goes out and all institutions or agencies, hotels, shops, supermarkets turn on generators. How many thousands of liters of diesel fuel are burned?
How much Carbon Monoxide (CO) is released into the air? Loss of money and loss of environment, of course. It's like we are a family going to a place. Each of us brings our own car. Isn't it wasteful? The environment is also affected by the amount of CO emitted by the car. In fact, one car can only accommodate two people or even one person.
It is more economical and healthier for the environment, we all take the bus. Like the policies implemented by big cities, to reduce carbon emissions. Turn on public transportation and develop low-emission vehicles.
Maximum awareness is needed for us, the current inhabitants of planet earth. The earth is getting older. Forests are getting smaller. Trees that produce Carbon Dioxide (CO2) are also getting smaller. Awareness to live more environmentally friendly. Awareness to reduce the production of CO into the air.
How to do it? The most important thing is to reduce the use of energy based on fossil fuels such as oil and coal. For those of us at home, switch to LED lights, save electricity as much as possible, including the use of air conditioning at home. Use as needed and at moderate temperature settings. The colder the temperature is set, the harder the AC works and the more electricity is needed.
Traveling is much better using public transportation. Traveling from Lhokseumawe to Banda Aceh or to Medan, for example, rather than taking a private car, it is better to take a Hiace.
Try to start switching from using plastic bags to paper bags or other environmentally friendly and easily recycled materials. The small steps we take can have a big impact if we do it together. Let's start from ourselves.
HARI ini, Kamis 30 Januari 2025, listrik padam di sebagian wailayah Kota Lhokseumawe. Kantor saya di Jalan T Ibrahim Agoeng Nomor 3 Uteunkot, Muara Dua, ikut terdampak. Karena itu sejak jam delapan pagi, kantor tampak gelap. Karyawan yang datang sekitar 30 menit kemudian mengaku tak bisa beraktivitas.
Karena listrik PLN tak kunjung menyala, dua jam kemudian petugas menyalakan mesin genset. Penggunaan mesin ini memang sangat terbatas. Butuh biaya besar untuk mengoperasikan mesin ini.
Mesin berukuran besar ini memiliki daya yang besar. Karena itu menghidupkan mesin ini sama dengan menghidupkan mesin mobil. Kami mendapat pinjaman mesin genset milik PLN selama pelaksanaan tahapan pemilihan kepala daerah. Beruntung mesinnya belum diambil kembali oleh pihak PLN Rayon Kota Lhokseumawe.
Tapi karena tahapan sudah ampir selesai, mungkin setelah pleno penetapan wali kota dan wakil wali kota terpilih nanti selesai, mereka akan segera menarik kembali genset tersebut.
Menghidupkan genset sebesar ini bukan sekadar urusan biaya. Bayangkan jika listrik PLN padam dan semua lembaga atau instansi, hotel, toko, supermarket menghidupan genset. Berapa ribu liter bahan bakar solar yang dibakar?
Berapa banyak Carbon Monoxide (CO) atau karbon monoksida yang dielpas ke udara? Rugia uang dan rugi lingkungan, pastinya. Ini ibarat kita satu keluarga mau ke sebuah tempat. Masing-masing kita bawa mobil sendiri. Boros bukan? Lingkungan juga terdampak oleh banyaknya Co yang dikeluarkan mobil. Padahal satu mobil ada yang cuma dua orang atau bahkan satu orang.
Lebih irit dan lebih sehat bagi lingkungan, kita semua naik bus. Seperti kebijakan yang diterapkan kota-kota besar, untuk mengurangi gas emisi carbon itu. Menghidupkan transportasi publik dan mengembangkan kendaraan rendah emisi.
Perlu kesadaran maksimal bagi kita penghuni planet bumi saat ini. Bumi semakin tua. Hutan semakin kecil. Pepohonan yang menjadi penghasil Carbon Dioxide (CO2) pun semakin kecil. Kesadaran untuk hidup lebih ramah lingkungan. Kesadaran untuk mengurangi meproduksi CO ke udara.
Caranya bagaimana? yang paling utama kurangi penggunaan energi yang berbasis bahan bakar fosil seperti minyak dan batu bara. Bagi kita di rumah, beralih ke lampu led, hemat listrik semaksimal mungkin, termasuk penggunaan pendingin udara di rumah. Gunakan seperlunya dan pada pengaturan suhu yang sedang. Semakin dingin suhu yang diatur, semakin berat AC bekerja dan semakin banyak listrik yang diperlukan.
Bepergian jauh lebih baik menggunakan kendaraan transportasi umum. Bepergian dari Lhokseumawe ke Banda Aceh atau ke Medan, misalnya, dari pada bawa mobil pribadi lebih baik naik Hiace.
Berupaya mulai beralih dari penggunaan kantong plastik ke kantong kertas atau bahan lain yang ramah lingkungan dan mudah didaur ulang. Langkah kecil yang kita lakukan bisa berdampak besar jika kita lakukan bersama. Mari kita mulai dari diri sendiri.
