DPR Reveals Coal Miners Preferred Exports Before DMO Policy

The House of Representatives Commission XII has revealed that domestic coal miners previously prioritised exports over meeting local demand before the Domestic Market Obligation (DMO) policy was implemented. Commission XII Chairman Bambang Pati Jaya explained that the absence of the DMO rule, which mandates a 25 percent allocation of production for domestic needs, led businesses to favour exports due to significantly higher international prices compared to lower domestic prices.

“There was a time when the DMO rule did not exist, and entrepreneurs who had already obtained their Work Plan and Budget (RKAB) simply exported because export prices were higher and more attractive,” he told CNBC Indonesia on Wednesday (24/6/2026). The DMO policy was originally designed to guarantee the sustainability of domestic energy supply and prevent businesses from solely focusing on export activities.

However, Bambang noted that in practice, the Domestic Price Obligation (DPO) or the assigned coal benchmark price for state electricity company PT PLN is considered unfair. The current DPO is set at US$70 per ton, applied uniformly across various coal calorie ranges. “In several meetings, entrepreneurs have complained that low-range, medium-range, high-calorie coal, and even coking coal are all pegged at the same US$70 per ton,” he added. He stressed that the government must evaluate this disparity to maintain a balance between national energy resilience and the sustainability of the business sector.