Bahlil Reveals Prabowo's Directives to PLN on Java Island Power Outages

President Prabowo Subianto summoned the directors of PLN (Persero) and Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia to discuss the rolling blackouts that have occurred in several regions recently. Bahlil stated that the government, together with PT PLN (Persero), has conducted an evaluation of a number of factors affecting electricity stability. “PLN’s total coal consumption each year is 154 million tonnes. Meanwhile, the assignment from the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources to companies to serve PLN is already around 180-190 million tonnes, of which 134 million tonnes have been contracted by PLN,” Bahlil told reporters at the Presidential Palace complex in Jakarta on Monday (21/6/2026). “Actually, based on the contract between PLN and the entrepreneurs, 134 million tonnes for one year, and we are now six months in, it should be no issue. It turns out what PLN is complaining about, or what PLN is requesting, is medium-calorie coal for blending,” he continued. Bahlil conveyed that the government has taken steps to assist PLN so that electricity services to the public can run properly. He also stated that the government has formed a coal procurement team to ensure similar problems do not recur. “We have ensured that there are no more issues and the government has helped PLN to operate. But more than that, we are asking PLN to immediately carry out maintenance, to truly provide service certainty to the public,” said Bahlil. “In our view, from the regulator’s perspective, if this is not supervised, we do not want this to continue. So I have formed a team, the procurement team consisting of PLN, the Directorate General of Coal, BPKP, and the Inspector General,” he continued. Bahlil conveyed that Prabowo instructed the relevant ministries to immediately take measured steps to ensure optimal electricity services for the public. “President Prabowo’s directive to us is to immediately ensure the implementation of measured steps in order to accelerate so that such incidents do not happen again,” said Bahlil. The meeting underscored Prabowo’s commitment to accelerating downstream industry, strengthening national energy security, and ensuring all citizens receive reliable electricity services as the foundation for Indonesia’s sustainable economic growth and industrialisation.