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🇮🇩 Indonesia /Energy & Infrastructure

Indonesia's PLN Restores Power Plant, Easing Rolling Blackouts on Java

From Tempo · () Indonesian

Translated from Indonesian, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Outcome reported
  • Indonesia's state electricity company PLN announced that one of two disrupted power plants has resumed operations, easing rolling blackouts on Java.
  • The restored plant began supplying electricity Sunday evening, adding generation capacity to strengthen the grid.
  • PLN is also improving fuel supply management and generation operations, though a specific end date for the outages was not provided.

Rolling blackouts that have plagued Indonesia's most populous island for two weeks are beginning to subside, state-owned electricity company PT PLN (Persero) announced. One of the two power plants that had suffered operational disruptions has been reconnected to the Java power grid, restoring crucial generation capacity.

One of the power plants has been successfully restored. At 6:00 p.m., it was synchronized with the Java power system and began supplying electricity to strengthen the reliability of the grid.

— Darmawan PrasodjoPLN President Director explaining the restoration of a power plant during a virtual press conference.

PLN President Director Darmawan Prasodjo confirmed the restored plant resumed operations on Sunday evening, June 21. "One of the power plants has been successfully restored. At 6:00 p.m., it was synchronized with the Java power system and began supplying electricity to strengthen the reliability of the grid," he said during a virtual press conference.

While the additional capacity is expected to reduce the frequency of rolling blackouts in the coming days, Darmawan did not specify when the outages would end completely. PLN is also working to improve fuel supply chain management and strengthen power generation operations, with Darmawan stating, "We are striving to ensure that the ongoing improvements can be maintained and further enhanced."

We are striving to ensure that the ongoing improvements can be maintained and further enhanced.

— Darmawan PrasodjoPLN President Director discussing efforts to improve operations and fuel supply.

The blackouts, which began on June 8, have affected all six provinces on Java. Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia previously cited a shortage of medium-calorific coal as a partial cause, attributing it to the gap between Indonesia's regulated domestic coal price and market rates. Under the Domestic Market Obligation (DMO) policy, coal supplied to PLN is capped at $70 per ton, while the government's Coal Reference Price (HBA) for comparable coal was significantly higher. This price disparity made supplying coal to PLN economically unviable for some companies, Bahlil explained. The utility faces a supply gap of about 20 million tons of coal annually.

At those prices, selling coal to PLN is no longer economically viable for some companies. That's the problem.

— Bahlil LahadaliaEnergy and Mineral Resources Minister explaining the economic challenges faced by coal suppliers.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Tempo in Indonesian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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