Govt tightens coal supply monitoring after Java blackouts

The government has tightened monitoring of domestic coal supply obligations and urged state utility PLN to speed up coal procurement contracts after a series of rotating blackouts in Java exposed vulnerabilities in fuel supplies to coal-fired power plants.

The Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry said it was closely monitoring compliance with the country's Domestic Market Obligation (DMO), which requires coal miners to allocate part of their production to the domestic market, particularly for electricity generation.

To meet PLN's coal requirement of 154 million metric tons in 2026, the ministry has assigned mining companies with approved work plans and budgets (RKAB) to supply a combined 212 million metric tons, Director General of Minerals and Coal Tri Winarno said in a statement issued on Saturday.

"As part of our regular monitoring, we oversee DMO compliance for both the power and non-power sectors. To meet PLN's requirement of 154 million metric tons, we have assigned mining companies with a total volume of 212 million metric tons," Tri said.

As of May, supply contracts covering 144 million metric tons had been signed, with actual deliveries expected to reach 130.5 million tons, the ministry said.

Tri said PLN needed to accelerate the signing of additional contracts because they form the basis for coal deliveries to the utility's coal-fired power plants.

"We continue to encourage PLN Energi Primer Indonesia (PLN EPI) to expedite the contracting process so that the assigned coal volumes can be translated into actual deliveries," he said.

The ministry said it was coordinating with PLN EPI and coal producers to ensure coal shipments arrive on time, in the required volumes and according to quality specifications.

The move follows a series of rotating blackouts across parts of Java earlier this year that were blamed in part on coal supply shortages at several PLN coal-fired power plants, particularly shortages of medium-calorific coal, as well as generating unit disruptions and maintenance issues.

The power outages prompted the government to establish a special task force to oversee coal procurement for PLN and to direct miners to increase domestic coal deliveries. Energy Minister Bahlil Lahadalia said last month that coal supply problems to the utility had been resolved after the government intervened to secure additional shipments.

Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak