Prabowo Instructs Bahlil: Rolling Blackouts in Java Must Not Recur

President Prabowo Subianto has instructed Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) Bahlil Lahadalia to ensure that rolling blackouts across Java do not happen again. The directive was issued after Prabowo summoned Bahlil and the President Director of state electricity firm PT PLN, Darmawan Prasodjo, to the Presidential Palace in Central Jakarta on Monday, 22 June 2026. “President Prabowo’s instruction to us is to immediately ensure we take measurable steps to accelerate efforts so that this sort of thing does not happen again,” Bahlil told reporters at the Presidential Palace complex in Central Jakarta. Bahlil said the Ministry of ESDM and PLN have identified several factors that caused the rolling blackouts in a number of areas on Java. He stated there were three main culprits. First, issues related to gas-fired power plants (PLTG), though Bahlil did not elaborate further on the specific problems. Second, the fulfilment of medium-calorie coal. Bahlil explained that PLN’s total annual coal consumption is 154 million tonnes, while the ESDM Ministry’s assignment to companies to supply PLN is already around 180 to 190 million tonnes. “PLN’s contract with businesses is 134 million tonnes for one year. Now it’s only June, so there should be no issue, but it turns out what PLN is complaining about is medium-calorie coal for blending. We have ensured there is no problem and the government has helped PLN,” he explained. Third, Bahlil urged PLN to immediately carry out maintenance on its generation systems and electricity networks to ensure smooth service for the public. “However, PLN has just informed me in the meeting that as of today, there are no more disruptions. That is according to the PLN President Director. Because technical matters regarding electricity operational services rest with PLN, while the government is the regulator,” Bahlil said.