Bahlil enlists intelligence agency, attorney general to probe PLN coal supply issues

Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Bahlil Lahadalia said the government is investigating irregularities in coal supplies to state electricity utility PT PLN (Persero) following rolling blackouts in parts of Java in recent weeks.

To support the investigation, Bahlil said he convened an inter-agency meeting with Attorney General ST Burhanuddin, National Intelligence Agency (BIN) Chief M. Herindra, Deputy House Speaker Sufmi Dasco Ahmad, State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi and Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya.

"Yesterday I held a meeting with the Attorney General, the BIN chief, the DPR leadership represented by Mr. Dasco, myself, the State Secretary, and the Cabinet Secretary," Bahlil said during the Energy Forum in Jakarta on Thursday.

Bahlil said he personally led the meeting to determine the root cause of PLN's coal supply problems, noting that Indonesia faced a similar crisis in 2022, when the government imposed a temporary coal export ban to secure supplies for domestic coal-fired power plants.

"We want to thoroughly investigate what the real problem is at PLN. In 2022, we faced the same situation. We even had to ban coal exports. I wanted to know what was really happening, so I chaired the meeting myself," he said.

According to Bahlil, government data indicates irregularities in PLN's coal inventory management.

Indonesia's coal-fired power plants require around 154 million metric tons of coal annually. Under the government's Domestic Market Obligation (DMO) policy, coal producers have been assigned to supply between 180 million and 190 million metric tons to the domestic market this year. Of that amount, between 160 million and 170 million metric tons have already been verified and committed by producers.

Bahlil said PLN had initially secured contracts for 134 million metric tons of coal, a figure that has since increased to 141 million metric tons, leaving only 13 million metric tons yet to be contracted.

He questioned why coal shortages emerged midway through the year despite the relatively small shortfall.

"How can the coal run out by June? What kind of logic is that? I'm speaking frankly here. There must be something else going on," he said.

Following a detailed review, Bahlil said the government found that the supply constraints involved medium- to high-calorific coal with an energy content above 5,000 kilocalories per kilogram, which is used as blending fuel at coal-fired power plants.

"We found that the shortage involved medium-grade coal with a calorific value above 5,000 kcal/kg used for blending. This is the type of coal that is needed. The government has fulfilled its DMO obligations, but the technical procurement is the company's responsibility. Don't wait until the water is already at your neck before raising the alarm," Bahlil said.

Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak