For years, energy in Indonesia has mostly been treated as an economic\nand sectoral matter. We discuss it through oil and gas production, fuel\nconsumption, energy subsidies, generation capacity, investment, or\nrenewable energy mix targets.<\/p>\n
Yet in an increasingly complex global strategic environment, energy\nhas a far larger dimension. Energy determines a country\u2019s ability to\nkeep economic activity running, ensure industry obtains reliable supply,\nmaintain public purchasing power and give the government room to make\ndecisions independently when external shocks occur.<\/p>\n
For this reason, President Prabowo Subianto\u2019s speech on 14 August\n2026 is important to read not merely as a report on development\nachievements, but as an affirmation that energy self-sufficiency is part\nof the national self-reliance agenda. Together with food and water\nself-sufficiency, energy is positioned as one of the foundations towards\nan Indonesia that is increasingly sovereign and possesses strong\neconomic resilience, defence and national security.<\/p>\n
This shift in perspective is all the more relevant as the world faces\nan uncertain geopolitical environment. The Russia-Ukraine conflict,\nescalating tensions in the Middle East, disruptions to trade routes,\nsupply chain fragmentation, commodity price volatility and competition\namong countries to secure strategic resources all demonstrate that\ndependence on external supply can turn into national vulnerability.<\/p>\n
When energy prices rise, the impact does not stop at the energy\nsector. It can spread to transport costs, food prices, inflation,\nindustrial production costs, the exchange rate and the state\u2019s fiscal\nposition.<\/p>\n
Energy resilience is therefore fundamentally a country\u2019s ability to\nkeep its economic system functioning when the external environment\nchanges. Indonesia cannot control world geopolitics, but Indonesia can\ndetermine how vulnerable its economy is to such turbulence.<\/p>\n
Indonesia is entering a new phase with increasingly strong\nfoundations. The Energy Resilience Index rose from 6.74 in 2024 to 7.13\nin 2025 and reached 7.15 in the first half of 2026. However, this\nachievement should not be seen as the finish line.<\/p>\n
The true measure of energy resilience is not only the ability to\nsupply energy under normal conditions, but the ability of the national\nsystem to keep functioning when disruptions occur.<\/p>\n
Energy must be available when global prices rise, when international\nsupply is disrupted, when domestic production declines, and when\nindustrial demand grows rapidly. Indonesia\u2019s challenge is therefore no\nlonger simply how to provide enough energy for today, but how to build\nan energy system capable of facing uncertainty for decades to come.<\/p>\n
This is where the concept of energy self-sufficiency needs to be\nelevated to energy resilience. Self-sufficiency means a growing ability\nto meet needs from domestic resources. However, self-reliance does not\nmean depending on a single energy source.<\/p>\n
Resilience requires diversification, robust infrastructure, adequate\nreserves, technology, and supporting industries capable of keeping the\nsystem running when disruptions occur. Indonesia needs to move from\nself-sufficiency towards energy resilience, namely the ability to meet\nenergy needs while absorbing shocks, adapting to change and recovering\nthe system when disruptions occur.<\/p>\n
The implementation of B50 is one important example. The biodiesel\npolicy is not merely a fuel substitution programme, but demonstrates how\ndomestic resources can be turned into an instrument of national\nresilience.<\/p>\n
The government recorded biofuel consumption of 7.48 million\nkilolitres in the first half of 2026, and the implementation of B50 is\none of the key milestones in reducing dependence on imported fuel. The\npolicy also strengthens the linkages between the plantation sector,\nprocessing industry and energy.<\/p>\n
However, B50 must not become the end point. It must be part of a\nbroader energy portfolio, alongside domestic oil and gas, geothermal,\nhydro, solar and other energy sources. The more diverse the energy\nsources Indonesia possesses, the greater its ability to manage risk.<\/p>\n
For this reason, strengthening oil and gas production still has an\nimportant place during the transition. The energy transition does not\nmean Indonesia can ignore current energy needs. Domestic production is\nstill needed to maintain security of supply while the transformation\ntakes place.<\/p>\n
The government itself still faces challenges in the form of natural\nproduction decline at ageing oil and gas fields, the need for\ninfrastructure development and global energy price volatility. Efforts\nto optimise existing wells, enhanced oil recovery, reactivation of old\nwells and development of new working areas are important to maintain\ndomestic supply.<\/p>\n
Indonesia therefore does not need to pit fossil energy against\nrenewable energy. Both must be placed within a transition strategy that\nensures today\u2019s energy security while building tomorrow\u2019s energy\nsystem.<\/p>\n
At the same time, renewable energy must be seen not only as a\ndecarbonisation instrument, but as a strategy to reduce national\nvulnerability. The government has pushed to increase the share of\nrenewables and accelerate the 100 GW solar power agenda.<\/p>\n
Solar potential has strategic significance because the energy source\nis available domestically and can be developed across various regions.\nHowever, the 100 GW solar target must not stop at being a generation\ncapacity target.<\/p>\n
It must be built together with transmission, interconnection, energy\nstorage and supporting industries. If the entire ecosystem develops\nsimultaneously, Indonesia will not only add electricity capacity, but\nalso build a domestic energy source that can reduce exposure to global\nenergy market volatility.<\/p>\n
The same applies to strategic minerals. The energy transition has\nchanged the definition of strategic resources. Batteries, electricity\ngrids, electric vehicles and various clean energy technologies require\nminerals that are increasingly important in the global supply chain.<\/p>\n
The government has placed strategic minerals and downstreaming as\npart of the national industrial development agenda. Mineral\ndownstreaming therefore actually has a very strong energy resilience\ndimension.<\/p>\n
Indonesia does not merely need to possess mineral reserves, but must\nbe able to build a value chain from mining, refining and processing\nthrough to energy technology manufacturing. The longer the value chain\nthat can be built domestically, the greater the economic value added and\nthe smaller the vulnerability to global supply chain disruptions.<\/p>\n
This is where energy meets industrialisation directly. There is no\nindustrialisation without sufficient, competitive and reliable energy.\nSmelters require large amounts of electricity. Battery factories require\nstable supply.<\/p>\n
Data centres require electricity 24 hours a day. Industrial estates\nrequire a combination of electricity, gas and energy infrastructure.\nEven industries seeking to enter global supply chains increasingly\nrequire low-carbon energy.<\/p>\n
This means that the greater Indonesia\u2019s ambition to become an\nindustrial country, the greater the need to build a robust energy\nsystem. Energy is no longer merely an input for industrialisation.\nEnergy is part of the strategic infrastructure that determines the\ncompetitiveness of national industry.<\/p>\n
Indonesia\u2019s future energy agenda must therefore move towards an\nenergy resilience architecture that integrates domestic production,\ndiversification of energy sources, transmission and distribution\nnetworks, storage, strategic reserves, technology and supporting\nindustries.<\/p>\n
Within this framework, national energy reserves become increasingly\nimportant. Global markets remain necessary, but the state must have a\nbuffer when disruptions occur. Resilience does not mean closing oneself\noff from the world, but rather ensuring that connectedness to global\nmarkets does not turn into a dependence that weakens the national\nposition.<\/p>\n
This paradigm also changes the way we view the energy transition. The\nenergy transition is not only a journey from fossil energy to low-carbon\nenergy. For Indonesia, the energy transition is also a process of\ndiversifying national risk.<\/p>\n
When solar, geothermal, hydro and bioenergy develop, dependence on\nglobal energy market dynamics can be reduced. When the battery and\nenergy component industries develop domestically, dependence on external\nsupply chains can be narrowed.<\/p>\n
And when strategic minerals are connected to the domestic technology\nindustry, Indonesia not only gains economic value added, but also builds\nstrategic capacity to face technological and geopolitical change.<\/p>\n
Ultimately, the measure of energy resilience success is not simply\nhow much energy is produced or how high the renewable share is. The more\nimportant question is whether Indonesia can keep the economy running\nwhen shocks occur.<\/p>\n
Can industry continue to produce when global energy prices rise? Can\nthe public still obtain energy at affordable prices when international\nsupply is disrupted? Does the state have sufficient reserves?<\/p>\n
Do we have the technology, minerals and infrastructure to maintain\nour own energy system? These questions take us from the paradigm of\nenergy independence towards energy resilience. Independence means less\ndependence on others. Resilience means having the ability to remain\nstanding when that dependence is tested.<\/p>\n
President Prabowo\u2019s speech of 14 August 2026 should therefore be a\nmomentum to elevate the level of national energy discourse. B50 is an\nimportant milestone, but not the finish line. Strengthening oil and gas\nproduction remains necessary, but must proceed alongside\ndiversification.<\/p>\n
The 100 GW solar programme is a major opportunity, but must be built\ntogether with grids and storage. Mineral downstreaming is a strategic\nstrength, but must be connected to the technology industry. Renewable\nenergy is the future, but requires a reliable electricity system.<\/p>\n
All of these agendas ultimately converge on one goal: building an\nIndonesia that has the ability to meet its own energy needs, withstand\nexternal shocks and continue its development without being easily swayed\nby changes in the global strategic environment.<\/p>\n
For in the end, energy is not only about fuel available at petrol\nstations or electricity lighting up homes and industrial estates. Energy\nis the foundation of a country\u2019s ability to sustain its economy, run its\nindustry and determine its own strategic direction.<\/p>\n
In a world increasingly marked by geopolitical tension, supply chain\nfragmentation and competition over strategic resources, countries with\nstrong energy systems will have greater room for manoeuvre. Indonesia\nmay not be able to control all the changes occurring in the world, but\nIndonesia can build the capacity not to be easily shaken by them. Energy\nsecurity is national security.<\/p>\n
Ultimately, the meaning of independence is not only about being free\nfrom colonialism, but also about a nation\u2019s ability to determine its own\nfuture. At the age of 81 years of the Republic of Indonesia, energy\nself-reliance is an important part of that endeavour.<\/p>\n
A nation that can secure its energy is a nation that has the room to\ndetermine its own development direction. Happy 81st Independence Day of\nthe Republic of Indonesia. Long live the Republic of Indonesia.\nMerdeka!<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/energy-security-is-national-security-a-new-chapter-in-indonesias-self-reliance-1786920633", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }