TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – Indonesia’s Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia said the country does not have plans for future electricity blackouts, while acknowledging that state utility PT PLN (Persero) has faced challenges in securing medium-calorie coal supplies for its power plants.
"God willing, no," Bahlil told reporters at the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs office in Jakarta on Thursday when asked about the possibility of future power outages.
The statement came after concerns over electricity reliability emerged following reports of rolling blackouts in several areas of Java. Bahlil said the government had discussed measures with Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto to ensure electricity services continue to operate properly.
One of the issues discussed was the compensation and subsidy mechanism for PLN to help maintain the company’s financial capacity in securing electricity supply.
However, Bahlil acknowledged that PLN has experienced difficulties in obtaining medium-calorie coal, which is used as fuel for power generation. He attributed the challenge to the gap between domestic coal prices and market prices.
Under the domestic market obligation (DMO) scheme, coal producers sell coal to PLN at US$70 per ton. Meanwhile, the government-set coal reference price (HBA) for the first period of June 2026 was set at US$121.83 per ton for high-calorie coal and US$84.53 per ton for medium-calorie coal.
"The difference in prices has made medium-calorie coal supplies more limited because producers are reluctant to sell to PLN at the DMO price," Bahlil said during a working meeting with House of Representatives Commission XII on Monday.
He said the issue was not caused by an overall coal shortage, but by supply challenges related to the pricing mechanism.
"If it is said that coal is scarce, that is not true. Our coal assignment has reached 170 million tons," Bahlil said at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta on June 11.
PLN’s annual coal requirement is estimated at 154 million metric tons. The company has secured contracts for 134 million tons, leaving a gap of around 20 million tons.
To address the issue, the Energy Ministry has formed a medium-calorie coal procurement team involving PLN, the Directorate General of Mineral and Coal, and the Financial and Development Supervisory Agency (BPKP).
"To monitor primary energy supply so this issue does not continue, we have formed a procurement team," Bahlil said.
He added that President Prabowo Subianto had instructed relevant institutions to coordinate on ensuring PLN’s coal supply needs are met.
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