Energy ministry to auction three geothermal areas in January 2026

The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) plans to auction three geothermal working areas (WKP) in January 2026, marking an early-year push to accelerate geothermal development.

Director General of New and Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation (EBTKE) Eniya Listiani Dewi said the auctions had initially been scheduled for late 2025 but were postponed due to the extensive documentation required.

“Last year, we were targeting three areas to be auctioned by the end of the year, but the documentation turned out to be quite extensive, so it had to be postponed to January. The auction will take place in January,” Eniya said on Friday (Jan. 9).

The three geothermal working areas to be offered are Telaga Ranu (in Maluku), Songgoriti (in East Java), and Ungaran (in Central Java).

Read also : Govt to launch new geothermal area tender this month

“Two of them are Telaga Ranu and Songgoriti, and we added one more because the minister asked that it not be returned to PLN—namely Ungaran,” she said.

Eniya explained that the Ungaran geothermal working area was previously managed by state-owned utility PT PLN (Persero), but has since been returned to the government and will be re-auctioned, including to private-sector developers.

“For these two areas as well, the minister has decided they will not be returned to PLN and will instead be opened to private companies to speed up development,” she added.

In terms of power generation potential, Eniya estimated that each of the geothermal working areas could support electricity capacity in the range of 55–60 megawatts (MW), although the exact potential varies by location.

Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak