Minister says plant disruptions, coal shortages caused Java blackouts

The government said recent rolling blackouts in parts of Java were caused by a combination of power plant disruptions, shortages of medium-calorific-value coal and maintenance issues in the electricity system.

The outages, which affected several areas on the country's most populous island last week, have largely been resolved after one major coal-fired power plant resumed operations, according to state utility PT PLN (Persero).

Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia said on Monday that the government had identified three main factors behind the disruptions following a meeting with President Prabowo Subianto and PLN executives.

The first was a problem involving a gas-fired power plant, although Bahlil did not identify the facility. Market speculation had centered on the 1,760-megawatt Jawa-1 gas-fired power plant, but operator PT Jawa Satu Power said the plant continued operating normally despite undergoing maintenance.

The second issue involved supplies of medium-calorific-value coal used by coal-fired power plants operated by PLN and independent power producers (IPPs).

"PLN's concern was the availability of medium-calorific coal for blending," Bahlil told reporters at the presidential palace.

He said Indonesia's coal-fired power sector requires around 154 million metric tons of coal this year, while supply contracts totaling 134 million tons have already been signed. The government has also instructed coal producers to allocate between 180 million and 190 million tons of coal to PLN and private power plants.

Bahlil said the Energy Ministry had helped PLN secure additional medium-grade coal supplies needed by generators.

PLN President Director Darmawan Prasodjo said one of two large coal-fired power plants that had experienced disruptions was successfully restored on Sunday evening and had resumed supplying electricity to the Java grid.

"One major power plant was restored last night, synchronized with the Java electricity system and has begun supplying power," Darmawan said.

PLN said rolling blackouts had been significantly reduced following the restoration of the generating unit and the arrival of additional coal supplies.

Darmawan said supplies of primary energy meeting the technical specifications required by PLN and IPP power plants had started flowing last week, helping strengthen the reliability of the Java electricity system.

The third factor behind the outages was the need for better maintenance of generation and transmission facilities to ensure reliable electricity services, Bahlil said.

Acting Director General of Electricity Tri Winarno later identified the affected facilities as units 1 and 4 of the Cilacap coal-fired power plant complex in Central Java. He said the units had undergone maintenance and that the issues had now been resolved.

Cilacap Unit 1 has a capacity of 300 MW and began commercial operations in 2006, while Unit 4, also known as Unit 3A, has a capacity of 1,000 MW and entered operation in 2019.

Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak