Klungkung agrees to pilot battery swapping for utility vehicles

In brief: Five battery-swap locations are planned in Bali's Klungkung regency under a project involving PLN and Indonesian and South Korean partners. The initial trial concerns five three-wheeled utility vehicles; there is no announced public service for privately owned electric scooters.

A memorandum of understanding signed on 30 September 2026 sets out a trial of replaceable batteries for small electric vehicles. The partners are PLN's Bali distribution unit, PT INAKO Kreta Udhaya, the Korea Smart e-Mobility Association (KEMA) and the Korea Automotive Technology Institute (KATECH). Indonesian news outlets reported the agreement on 1 October, drawing on statements and material from PLN's regional office.

A fleet trial focused on local services

The equipment is intended to let a vehicle exchange a depleted battery for a charged one instead of waiting for an onboard charge. PLN will support the electricity supply and grid connections, with its East Bali and Klungkung units handling local arrangements. The other partners are responsible for preparing permits and connection requirements. They also plan to assess the equipment in use and collect operational data.

The first five vehicles are expected to be three-wheelers serving specific jobs, including waste collection, goods transport and refrigerated deliveries. The wider development programme also envisages compact electric agricultural vehicles for carrying supplies and spraying crops.

That choice of vehicles gives the project a defined test: whether a small working fleet can keep moving throughout its daily routes. It offers a possible future option for municipal services and local delivery businesses, but the agreement provides no measured savings, running costs or service reliability figures.

October target, with no confirmed public access

The partners aimed to start the pilot in October 2026. The reports available by 14 October do not establish that any of the five locations is already operating. Their addresses, access arrangements, charges and battery compatibility have not been published in the cited announcements. Residents and visitors should not assume they can use the proposed stations for personal e-motorbikes.

A larger rollout is being discussed for 2027, when the partners hope to have more than 30 electric vehicles involved across Bali. That figure is an ambition for the next phase, dependent on further implementation; it is not a count of deployed vehicles today.

Klungkung's regent, I Made Satria, has linked the initiative to the district government's goal of making Nusa Penida a green island by 2030. Nusa Penida falls within Klungkung regency, but the announcement does not place the five pilot sites on the island. For people living in the district, the first meaningful results will be operational: whether waste and delivery services can use the vehicles reliably, and whether local businesses are eventually able to take part.

• RRI — “PLN Siapkan Infrastruktur Battery Swap, Lima Kendaraan Listrik Diuji Coba”, 1 October 2026.
• Bali Portal News — “PLN Dukung Uji Coba Kendaraan Listrik di Klungkung, Siapkan Infrastruktur Penukaran Baterai”, 30 September 2026.