Government Urged to Reassess Coal Public Service Agency Plan

Indonesian Mining and Energy Forum (IMEF) Chairman Singgih Widagdo has urged the government to reassess its plan to establish a coal Public Service Agency (BLU). He said the institutional design and working mechanisms of the BLU need to be clarified so that domestic coal supply management can run effectively and provide certainty for business players.

“Looking at its objective, it is indeed good, namely to improve and maintain the availability of coal and natural gas for national energy security. However, if the BLU is implemented, it needs to be clarified how roles and responsibilities are divided in meeting energy needs,” Singgih said in a statement on Saturday (29/8/2026).

According to Singgih, the draft Presidential Regulation grants broad authority to the BLU, ranging from demand reconciliation, planning, procurement to coal distribution. The BLU is also said to be able to purchase directly from mine owners and enter into long-term contracts.

He assessed that such authority needs to be accompanied by transparent and measurable mechanisms, particularly in determining suppliers and contract volumes. Clarity of mechanism is considered important to create business certainty while ensuring domestic coal needs can be met optimally.

“How the BLU will provide fairness for all business players still leaves questions. The BLU should not merely conduct transactions with certain companies,” he said.

Singgih said the challenge of supply management is also related to the characteristics of the national coal industry. There are currently 799 coal mining business permits with varying production capacities, mine locations, and coal quality, ranging from low rank to high rank.

“Given these conditions, I see the BLU will face complexity if it has to become the single buyer of coal domestically and resell it to public electricity,” he said.