Rolling Blackouts in Java: PLN Accelerates Coal Procurement
PT PLN (Persero) President Director Darmawan Prasodjo announced the company is accelerating the procurement of coal supplies, particularly medium-rank coal, to meet the needs of power plants. “We are also speeding up the signing of contracts with coal suppliers, especially medium-rank coal that has received government assignment,” Darmawan said in a confirmed voice recording in Jakarta on Saturday (20/6/2026).
In the process of accelerating coal supply procurement, Darmawan has been conducting intensive and continuous coordination with the Director General of Mineral and Coal at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM), Tri Winarno. Through this coordination, Darmawan hopes the contract signing process can proceed quickly. “With the allocation of medium-rank coal and direction from the Minister of ESDM (Bahlil Lahadalia), PLN will make improvements so that the electricity supply process can run smoothly,” Darmawan stated.
He noted that the distribution of medium-rank coal is now flowing to steam power plants (PLTU) across Java, including PLN-owned plants, partner plants, and Independent Power Producer (IPP) plants. He detailed the PLTUs set to receive medium-rank coal supplies. In West Java, these include PLTU Pelabuhan Ratu, PLTU Lontar, PLTU Labuan, PLTU Suralaya units 1 to 8, PLTU Jawa 7, PLTU Jawa 9 and 10, and PLTU Indramayu. In East Java, the plants include PLTU Paiton 1 and 2, PLTU Paiton 9, PLTU Rembang, PLTU Pacitan, and PLTU Tanjung Awar-awar.
“On behalf of PT PLN (Persero), we would like to apologise profusely because Java is experiencing rolling blackouts. We understand the difficulties faced by the public due to this event,” Darmawan said.
Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia explained that PLN’s total coal requirement reaches 154 million metric tonnes per year. So far, PLN has secured contracts for 134 million tonnes, leaving a shortfall of approximately 20 million tonnes. The ministry has identified obstacles specifically concerning medium-rank coal, particularly with specifications around 5,200 kcal per kilogram GAR needed by PLN’s generators. Bahlil subsequently formed a procurement team for medium-rank coal to address these issues. He also opened the possibility of revising coal prices for PLN amid rising production cost pressures for suppliers and challenges in maintaining medium-rank coal supplies. This price adjustment would be made to fulfil domestic market obligations (DMO), currently set at 70 US dollars per tonne for PLN.