House Commission XII Urges Use of Rupiah for Coal DMO Transactions

The use of the rupiah in coal transactions for domestic needs is considered a strategic step to increase efficiency as well as national energy resilience, particularly amid the oil and gas sector’s dependence on global dynamics. Member of the House of Representatives’ Commission XII from the Democrat Faction, Sartono Hutomo, stated that the use of the rupiah in coal transactions could be considered as a short-term strategy to strengthen energy resilience while reducing dependence on external factors. “This needs to be considered and calculated wisely,” Sartono said in his statement in Jakarta on Sunday (26/4/2026). Sartono said that coal transactions for national power generation through the Domestic Market Obligation (DMO) scheme are more efficient compared to oil and gas because they are supported by a strong domestic supply and are more feasible to use the rupiah. “Coal is considered more realistic to implement compared to oil and gas because Indonesia has large domestic reserves and production,” he said. According to him, this condition makes coal transactions for domestic needs more efficient and has the potential to strengthen national energy sovereignty. On the other hand, he continued, oil and gas are still heavily dependent on global market dynamics, making the implementation of transactions using the rupiah more complex. “Thus, the use of the rupiah in coal transactions could become a strategic initial step in strengthening national energy resilience sustainably,” Sartono emphasised.