Antara News·Indonesia·Wednesday, September 16, 2026 at 11:23 AM

RI's energy minister guarantees coal quotas sufficient for electricity

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Putu Indah Savitri, Yashinta Difa

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesia's coal production quotas are sufficient to meet state utility PT PLN's power-generation needs, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia said, rejecting concerns that permits contributed to recent regional outages.

Speaking at a meeting with House of Representatives Commission XII in Jakarta on Wednesday, Bahlil said company production limits under Work Plans and Budgets, known as RKABs, balance domestic supply and global prices.

"There are no longer any issues with coal RKABs concerning PLN. We want to ensure there are no more power outages blamed on RKAB matters," Bahlil said.

RKAB approvals and production targets are based on supply and demand conditions to maintain stable coal prices, he said.

"We cannot simply set high RKAB targets only for prices to crash. That is not feasible. Our national coal stocks are adequate when supply and demand are considered," Bahlil said.

Addressing recent rolling blackouts in parts of Kalimantan and Sulawesi, Bahlil said the disruptions were caused by severe drought linked to the El Niño phenomenon, not coal shortages.

Both regions rely heavily on hydropower plants, with falling water levels cutting output in South Sulawesi from 400 megawatts to between 200 and 250 megawatts.

"The power outages in Kalimantan and Sulawesi have nothing to do with RKABs," Bahlil said.

The ministry is preparing replacement power sources for affected hydropower plants in South Sulawesi to address the resulting generation shortfall.

The ministry will also coordinate with state utility PT PLN (Persero) over disruptions in Central Kalimantan caused by power-plant maintenance and introduce early mitigation measures elsewhere.

The government continues to secure coal supplies for PLN, as coal remains the backbone of Indonesia's power grid, generating nearly 65 percent of the country's electricity.

Ministry data shows PLN requires 154 million tons of coal in 2026. Contracts have secured 134 million tons, while 18.13 million tons remain under intensive administrative coordination.

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