Indonesia's Energy Resilience Far Stronger Than Neighbouring Countries, Here's the Proof
The People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) of Indonesia assesses that the country’s energy resilience is currently far stronger compared to neighbouring countries in Asia. Indonesia’s ability to maintain supply stability amidst the global geopolitical crisis is cited as proof of the domestic energy sector’s robustness.
MPR Deputy Speaker Eddy Soeparno explained the comparison of conditions when conflict erupted in the Middle East some time ago. Based on his observations, many neighbouring countries were forced to restrict fuel sales, while Indonesia remained able to serve the needs of the public.
“I feel that today our energy resilience is far stronger compared to neighbouring countries. If we recall when the war in the Middle East broke out, a week or two later, countries in the Asian region at the very least had restricted fuel sales. In Bangladesh, Pakistan, and the Philippines, they had already imposed restrictions,” he said at the CNBC Indonesia Coffee Morning event on Thursday (23/7/2026).
Resilience in Indonesia’s electricity sector is also considered very stable because it is supported by the abundant availability of coal as a raw material for power generation. With current reserves, the electricity sector is deemed not to have experienced significant disruption even though the global energy market is experiencing supply turmoil.
“Our electricity sector was actually not disrupted because of what? Yes, it is a blessing in disguise that we still use a lot of coal. Indonesia’s coal reserves are extraordinarily large, ladies and gentlemen. Today we produce 800 million tonnes of coal per year. We can produce that for 50 years and still have reserves for the next 100 years,” he explained.
In addition to the electricity sector, Indonesia has resilience through the utilisation of biofuel to reduce dependence on foreign oil products. The implementation of the mandatory 40 percent biodiesel (B40) programme, which was previously in effect, has proven effective in significantly reducing diesel import volumes amidst rising crude oil prices.
“We also have resilience because we have energy sources to help reduce imports. Today we use B40 to reduce our diesel import volume. So we are actually somewhat stronger,” he added.
Despite having good resilience, the government remains wary of spikes in global crude oil prices that could force adjustments to non-subsidised fuel prices domestically. The energy transition is seen as the only way out to ensure long-term energy security that is more sustainable.
“For me, the energy transition is not an option, not a choice, it is a necessity. So it is inevitable that we have to transform our energy sector to become more sustainable,” he concluded.