Why Are Household Gas Networks Hard to Accept? Here Is the Process of Building Public Trust

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FORMOSA NEWS

A team of researchers from Universitas Riau consisting of Charly Simanullang, Jahrizal, and Lailan Tawila Berampu successfully uncovered the psychological and social dynamics behind public acceptance of the household gas network (jargas) program. Published in August 2026, this research is critical to understand because the success of the domestic energy transition relies not only on physical infrastructure readiness, but heavily on how society builds a sense of security, direct experience, and trust in the energy service.

The implementation of jargas is designated as one of the national strategic programs to boost domestic energy consumption efficiency while reducing dependence on subsidized LPG. However, national household connection achievements still face major challenges due to a wide gap between the government's target in the National Medium-Term Development Plan of four million connections and the realization by the end of 2024 which only reached about 818 thousand connections. This condition indicates that the main obstacle to developing pipe-based clean energy is not merely technical and investment matters, but concerns the level of social acceptance among the community.

To explore this phenomenon, this study applied a qualitative approach with a grounded theory design focusing on users' experiences and social interactions in Riau Province, covering Pekanbaru City, Siak Regency (Perawang), Pelalawan Regency, and Dumai City. Data collection was conducted thoroughly through in-depth interviews of active participants with a minimum usage period of one year, direct field observations, and supporting document analysis involving technical officers and community leaders as data validators.

The study found that public acceptance of jargas is not an instantaneous decision, but rather an accumulation of a social process that goes through five main stages:

• The first stage is the formation of initial perception sourced from socialization or other people's experiences, where expectations and concerns regarding security aspects begin to emerge.
• The second stage is a rational evaluation between the offered benefits (such as convenience, cost efficiency, and continuous supply) versus the risks of disruptions or leaks.
• The third stage is hands-on usage experience, which serves as a critical test to confirm or break consumer initial perceptions.
• The fourth stage is the strengthening of trust, which is built gradually through supply consistency, safety, and officer responsiveness.
• The fifth stage is social legitimacy, where neighbor recommendations and collective norms in the surrounding environment strengthen the overall adoption decision.

Through in-depth analysis, the core category of "Experience-Based Trust and Value Benefits" was identified. Charly Simanullang and his research team from Universitas Riau emphasized that public trust is not a pre-existing starting point, but rather the cumulative result of tangible proof of jargas benefits and quality service interactions. Therefore, policymakers, energy service providers, and regional governments must be able to design communication strategies that educate the public empirically, manage service touchpoints excellently, and strengthen social support at the community level to accelerate the success of the national energy transition.

Author Profiles

• Charly Simanullang: Doctoral Program in Management, Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitas Riau, Indonesia
• Jahrizal: Doctoral Program in Management, Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitas Riau, Indonesia
• Lailan Tawila Berampu: Doctoral Program in Management, Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitas Riau, Indonesia
• Fields of Expertise: Marketing Management, Consumer Behavior, and Public Utilities

Research Source

• Article Title: The Process of Forming Public Acceptance of Household Gas Networks: A Study on Domestic Energy Users
• Journal Name: Indonesian Journal of Business Analytics (IJBA), Vol. 6, No. 4
• Publication Year: 2026
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.55927/ijba.v6i4.16736