Bahlil: PLN Faces Shortage of Medium-Calorie Coal for Power Plants

Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) Minister Bahlil Lahadalia has finally acknowledged that PT PLN (Persero) is experiencing difficulties in meeting the need for medium-calorie coal for power plants. According to Bahlil, the condition is triggered by the low selling price of coal for domestic needs, or the domestic market obligation (DMO), compared to the market price. The statement was made by Bahlil in response to a question from Commission XII DPR member Ramson Siagian of the Gerindra faction, who questioned the reliability of PLN’s power plants, which has led to rolling blackouts in several areas of Java. “This is trending on social media, a Java blackout. The Minister must push the PLN President Director so that blackouts like in Sumatra do not happen again,” said Ramson. Responding to this, Bahlil said that currently mining companies sell coal for PLN’s needs at a DMO price of US$70 per ton. Meanwhile, the Coal Reference Price (HBA) for period I of June 2026 is set at US$121.83 per ton for the 6,322 kcal/kg type. Meanwhile, medium-calorie coal or 5,300 kcal/kg is set at US$84.53 per ton. According to Bahlil, the wide price difference has made the supply of medium-calorie coal increasingly limited because producers tend to be reluctant to sell the commodity to PLN at the DMO price. “So, the selling price to PLN is no longer viable for the companies. That is the problem,” said Bahlil during a working meeting with Commission XII DPR on Monday, 15 June 2026. Previously, Bahlil had asserted that the power outages occurring in various regions recently were not caused by a scarcity of coal. According to him, the coal supply for national power plant needs is still secure. “If it is said that the problem is coal scarcity, that is not true. Because our assignment has reached 170 million tons,” Bahlil said at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta on Thursday evening, 11 June 2026. To overcome the coal shortage issue, the ESDM Ministry will form a procurement team for medium-calorie coal to ensure PLN’s power plant needs are met. The team will involve PLN, the Directorate General of Minerals and Coal (Minerba), and the Finance and Development Supervisory Agency (BPKP). “In order to supervise primary energy so this does not continue, we are forming a procurement team. PLN, the Director General of Minerba, and BPKP,” said Bahlil. Bahlil said PLN’s total coal requirement reaches 154 million metric tons per year. To meet this need, the government has assigned mining companies through the DMO scheme with a total volume of around 190 million tons. “Of the 190 million tons, around 150–160 million tons have been confirmed and 134 million tons have been contracted,” said Bahlil. Thus, from PLN’s total requirement of 154 million tons per year, 134 million tons already have supply contracts. This means there are still around 20 million tons of coal needs that have not been contracted. “So that means there is only a shortfall of 20 million tons that has not been contracted,” he said. Nevertheless, Bahlil admitted that the main challenge faced by PLN is not merely fulfilling the supply volume, but rather the availability of coal with medium-calorie specifications that match the needs of the power plants. “I must admit that within that 134 million tons, PLN requires medium coal, with somewhat good calories,” said Bahlil.