As the Christmas lights begin to sparkle across cities and towns in Indonesia, a different kind of light is turning on for families in Papua—literally. This holiday season, 27 households scattered across Papua and West Papua have been granted free electricity connections by PT PLN (Persero), offering them not only illumination but also hope, dignity, and a brighter future.
The announcement came on December 7, 2025, when PLN’s Papua–West Papua unit formally handed over the “Christmas gift”: free electrical hookups, through its program Light Up The Dream (LUTD). According to the unit’s General Manager, Diksi Erfani Umar, the gesture is rooted in a commitment to energy equity—ensuring that even the most marginalized households in remote or underserved regions can access the basic necessity of power.
A Light in the Darkness: The Meaning Behind the Gift
For many Papuan families, the absence of electricity is not simply a matter of convenience; it is a barrier to education, economic opportunity, and basic comfort. In areas where grid coverage exists but families cannot afford the cost of installation, homes often remain in darkness or rely on unstable, makeshift solutions. In some cases, residents depend on neighbors’ connections or avoid using electricity entirely—limiting everything from lighting and cooking to studying, business, and communication.
The free connection offered by PLN transforms that reality into something new. For 27 families, “Light Up The Dream” is more than just a technical upgrade: it is a gateway to improved schooling for children, safer homes after sunset, easier cooking and food preservation, and the chance to participate more actively in modern economic life. According to PLN, by December 2025, this program had already enabled 2,931 families in Papua and West Papua to receive free electricity hookups.
In the context of Christmas and New Year celebrations—times of warmth, gathering, and reflection—the electrical connection becomes a deeply meaningful gift. In homes previously illuminated only by kerosene lamps or flashlight glow, now there can be shining lights, holiday decorations, and a sense of normalcy long denied. For households struggling with daily hardship—often in remote or 3T regions (tertinggal, terdepan, terluar / underdeveloped, frontier, outermost)—the gesture carries significance that goes beyond meter boxes and wiring. It becomes a symbol of inclusion, respect, and national solidarity.
The Story Behind “Light Up The Dream”
The “Light Up The Dream” program is not a recent impulse but rather a structured, ongoing effort by PLN, powered in part by the voluntary donations of its own employees. Under LUTD, staff members contribute from their own salaries to fund the installation of free electricity connections for underprivileged households. The program aims to support families in various regions of Indonesia—including remote areas like Papua—where financial barriers prevent access to electricity.
PLN notes that the December 2025 provision to 27 families is part of a broader push. The initiative is aligned with national goals to improve energy access, reduce inequality, and ensure that even the most remote communities benefit from modern infrastructure. For many families, what was once a dream—having steady, reliable electricity—is now becoming reality. General Manager Diksi Erfani Umar called the program “a real presence of the state and a gesture of empathy from PLN workers,” tangible proof that energy justice matters.
Crucially, the program also underscores the unique challenges in Papua. Even as other provinces in Indonesia approach nearly 100% electrification rates, many Papuan communities remain without access—either because they are too remote, too poor, or too marginalized. By choosing to prioritize these areas, PLN is signaling that the principle of “energy for all” must include the last mile, the forgotten hamlet, and the least connected family.
Impact on Lives: Stories of Hope and Opportunity
Across Papua, the arrival of an electrical connection represents a turning point for many families. For example, a household in Jayapura that had endured 16 years without stable electricity recently had its home finally electrified through LUTD. For that family, the moment of the “switch-on” was not just a technical milestone but a deeply emotional one: after years of studying by kerosene lamps, children can now study under a ceiling light; after years of limited mobility after dark, the home can now be safely lit; after years of relying on neighbors, now they have their own meter, their own power.
Parents see in it a chance to improve their children’s education, to grow small businesses, or simply to enjoy modern conveniences they had long considered out of reach. For many elderly or disadvantaged residents, electricity means safety and dignity—no more fumbling in the dark, no more limited evenings, and no more uncertainty about tomorrow. Even in small villages, a single light bulb can change the rhythm of daily life: refrigerators allow better food storage; mobile phones can be charged; and radios or TVs offer access to news, education, and connection to the broader world.
PLN says that the program’s continuing goal is to bring electricity to thousands more. The company aims not just to connect households temporarily, but to help them integrate fully into modern society—to enable better education, health, business, and community opportunities.
Energy Equity & Social Justice: Why This Matters
In a country as vast and diverse as Indonesia, access to basic services remains uneven. Regions like Papua, with remote villages, islands, mountainous terrain, or limited infrastructure, often lag behind in electrification and modern amenities—even as other areas enjoy near-universal coverage. When basic services like electricity remain out of reach for certain communities, it widens inequality, limiting opportunities for education, enterprise, and social mobility.
By offering free electricity connections to underprivileged households, PLN—through LUTD—contributes toward energy justice. The program embodies the principle that electricity is not a luxury but a human need: a foundation for education, health, information, and dignity. For a family that never had stable lighting, a single connection can open doors previously closed.
Moreover, by choosing to launch the gift during Christmas and New Year, the program aligns with symbolic themes of hope, renewal, and solidarity. It is a reminder that even while celebrating festivities, the nation must not forget those still living in darkness—both literally and figuratively. As PLN puts it: “memerdekakan masyarakat dari kegelapan.”
The gesture also carries social and economic implications. When households gain electricity, children can study longer at night, small businesses can operate with more ease, and families can improve their quality of life. Over time, access to electricity can help reduce inequality, stimulate local economies, and support sustainable development—especially in remote and underserved regions such as Papua.
Challenges, Sustainability, and the Road Ahead
Despite the clear benefits, a free electricity program for a handful of households is only a first step. Papua remains one of the regions in Indonesia with relatively lower electrification rates, especially in remote, mountainous, or island communities. According to PLN’s broader data, although much progress has been made, there are still gaps to fill—particularly in 3T regions (frontier, outermost, and underdeveloped).
Maintaining the infrastructure—ensuring stable grid supply, dealing with remote terrain, delivering meter boxes, and providing reliable maintenance—remains a challenge. For electricity connections to truly improve lives, they must be sustained: households need a reliable supply, affordable tariffs, and support for upkeep.
There is also the issue of scale: 27 families is a small number compared to the total households without electricity across Papua. For the program to make a lasting impact, the efforts must be scaled up significantly and continued over time. In that sense, “Light Up The Dream” needs to evolve beyond symbolic gestures and short-term drives into a sustained nationwide push to shore up energy access for all Indonesians—especially in underserved corners.
Still, the gesture is significant: it demonstrates that institutions can act with empathy and social responsibility, and that even in a large, commercially driven organization such as PLN, human-centered values can guide policy.
What Recipients Can Expect: More Than Just Lights
For the 27 families now connected, the new electricity supply brings more than mere illumination. It offers practical possibilities: children can study at night, households can preserve food, families can keep up with news and entertainment, and local enterprises—small shops, home businesses, and artisans—may emerge or stabilize thanks to reliable power.
For many, the newfound stability may pave the way to improved livelihoods. Clean energy and lighting reduce reliance on kerosene lamps—which are expensive, polluting, and unsafe. Electric lighting improves household safety, reduces fire and health hazards, and makes home life easier.
Moreover, having electricity can strengthen community ties: families can gather at night under proper lighting, children can read and study together, and homes can become centers of social life once more. What were once candle-lit dwellings may now be transformed into places of warmth, comfort, and opportunity.
In remote areas where distance from services often isolates households, electricity can help bridge gaps. Through radio, television, or internet (where available), families can access education, health information, and news and connect with the wider world—reducing isolation and opening new horizons.
Christmas Gift with a Purpose: Symbolism and Responsibility
By distributing free electricity connections as a “Christmas gift,” PLN has tapped into the season’s spirit of generosity, hope, and shared humanity. This timing is more than ceremonial: it turns infrastructure aid into a symbol of solidarity, reminding both the public and the government that development must include social justice.
The gesture sends a message: that basic utilities such as electricity should not be privileges of the relatively affluent or those living in major cities but rights for all—including remote villages, underprivileged families, and communities long neglected by infrastructure rollout.
Moreover, the program reflects a growing recognition within state-owned enterprises and the government that corporate responsibility and public service can go hand in hand. Through voluntary employee contributions, PLN has demonstrated that social change can start from within—that collective small acts can become large-scale impact across time and distance.
Conclusion
As evening falls over Papua this holiday season, 27 homes now glow with fresh electricity—a signal that for some families, the future is a little brighter. While the act may be modest in scale, its meaning is profound: it represents inclusion, dignity, and the possibility of a better life. For households long living in darkness—literal and figurative—the free electricity connection is not just a gift but a turning point.
What PLN and the “Light Up The Dream” program have done is more than install light bulbs; they have ignited hope. They have reminded communities that they are seen, that they matter, and that development must reach even the farthest corners. If sustained and scaled up, efforts like this could help close gaps, bridge inequality, and bring the promise of modern life to many more.
This Christmas, for 27 families in Papua, the dark has ended—and the future begins to shine.