Bahlil Discusses Electricity Interconnection with ASEAN Countries

Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) Bahlil Lahadalia accompanied President Prabowo Subianto in discussing energy sector issues at the 48th ASEAN Summit in Cebu, Philippines. Bahlil addressed strengthening ASEAN energy cooperation, including electricity interconnections between countries. Indonesia’s participation in the ASEAN Summit is important for discussing energy sector issues due to global disruptions in the Middle East. It is hoped that this summit will serve as a momentum for ASEAN to strengthen collaboration in maintaining regional energy availability. Regarding electricity, Indonesia still has coal reserves to continue operating steam-powered electricity plants (PLTU). In fact, the abundant availability of coal positions Indonesia to target export markets to the United States (US) and Europe. “Now the US is opening options for coal. In Europe, they are opening options for coal; some are requesting 20 million tonnes per year from us,” Bahlil stated, quoted from Kompas.com on Saturday (2/5/2026). The government is implementing efficiency measures, with the most important being that national energy availability is currently sufficient. “I have decided; I said let’s proceed with coal for now. This is about survival mode. We are talking about efficiency. We should not sacrifice our people with high electricity prices,” he explained. The government continues to ensure that national energy availability is maintained.