Bahlil Reports to Prabowo on Energy Security and Coal Supply After Lengthy Palace Meeting

Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) Bahlil Lahadalia disclosed the contents of a meeting between President Prabowo Subianto, himself, and the board of directors of PT PLN (Persero) at the State Palace in Jakarta on Monday (22/6/2026). The PLN directors arrived at the palace around 12.00 WIB, and Bahlil was seen leaving around 17.15 WIB. The meeting was also attended by PLN President Director Darmawan Prasodjo, Director of Generation Management Rizal Calvary Marimbo, Director of Technology Engineering and Sustainability Edwin Nugraha, Director of Corporate Planning and Business Development Rakhmad Dewanto Haris, and CEO of BPI Danantara Rosan Roeslani.

Bahlil explained that the first topic discussed was the evaluation of downstreaming programmes. He reported that several initiatives are underway, such as the battery industry ecosystem collaboration between CATL and Antam, which is scheduled for inauguration at the end of July.

Secondly, the meeting addressed energy supply. Bahlil reported that Indonesia’s energy security currently stands at an average minimum limit of 20 days. The discussion also covered the stability of PLN’s service to the public, following rolling blackouts in several areas of Java. Bahlil stated that he and the PLN President Director had dissected three related problems, including the supply of coal for power plants. “One of them concerns the PLTG at the beginning. The second is the fulfilment of high-calorie coal that is medium,” he said.

The Golkar Party Chairman explained that PLN’s annual coal consumption reaches 154 million tons. The Ministry of ESDM has assigned a Domestic Market Obligation (DMO) to coal companies to serve PLN amounting to 180-190 million tons. However, PLN has only signed purchase contracts with entrepreneurs for 134 million tons for one year, resulting in a calculated shortfall of approximately 20 million tons. Bahlil stated this is not a problem because the signed contracts have only been running for six months. “Actually, the contract between PLN and the entrepreneurs is 134 million tons for one year. Now it’s only the sixth month, so that should be no issue,” he said.

Bahlil also noted that one of PLN’s complaints regarding supply is coal quality. “PLN requests medium calorie coal for blending. We have ensured that there is no problem and the government has helped PLN to operate. But more than that, we have asked PLN to immediately carry out maintenance to truly provide service certainty to the public,” Bahlil concluded.