PLN Ready to Support Data Centres’ Electricity Needs

Jakarta (ANTARA) – State electricity company PT PLN (Persero) is ready to fully support the electricity needs of data centres in Indonesia, with implementation possible through collaboration.

“Our principle is to provide full support, but we can implement it through collaboration. In the first phase, we will serve them using existing infrastructure. In subsequent phases, of course, we will need to discuss and work together on building infrastructure, including power plants, transmission and distribution,” PLN President Director Suroso Isnandar said in Jakarta on Tuesday.

He said data centres have substantial electricity requirements and should be charged cost-reflective tariffs so that the costs do not become a burden on subsidies.

“By using business-to-business tariffs, we hope to accommodate all data centres,” he added.

Suroso said PLN’s major agenda for the next 10 years is the energy transition. Under the 2025–2034 Electricity Supply Business Plan (RUPTL), PLN is moving from a fossil-fuel-based electricity system to one based on renewable energy.

“This is highly technology-intensive. Over the next 10 years, to drive the energy transition, we must build an additional 69.5 gigawatts of power-generation capacity. This does not yet take into account the wave of demand from data centres. Electricity demand from data centres has already reached 20 gigawatts. So, beyond the 69.5 gigawatts, we would need to build another 20 gigawatts to meet data-centre needs,” he said.

Earlier, Coordinating Minister for Downstreaming and Energy Transition Bahlil Lahadalia called for the development of Batam, Karimun and Bintan as a new data-centre hub in Indonesia.

He said the plan aims to capture digital-economy investment opportunities while making the most of water availability and developing new and renewable energy.

Bahlil explained that the growth of the digital industry is driving a sharp increase in energy demand. Data centres require not only a reliable electricity supply but also significant volumes of water to operate.

He cited several countries that have begun restricting data-centre construction because of its high electricity and water requirements. Indonesia, he said, needs careful planning to ensure technology investment does not place excessive pressure on local resources.