Sumatra Blackout: Observer Says Energy Ministry Must Take Responsibility
Jakarta, VIVA – The Center of Energy and Resources Institute (CERI) has spoken out on the alleged coal corruption scandal that led to the electricity blackout in Sumatra and Bali.
According to CERI, the blackout stems from negligence by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) in governing coal supply fulfilment.
CERI suspects that the coal shortage occurred because many coal mining companies failed to meet their Domestic Market Obligation (DMO) requirements.
Yet those companies were still able to continue producing and exporting abroad, when this should have been prevented using the regulatory instruments available to the ESDM ministry.
“The ESDM Ministry’s Directorate General of Minerals and Coal should be held responsible when there are violations,” said CERI Executive Director Yusri Usman in a statement quoted on Saturday, 11 July 2026.
“The ESDM Ministry should be able to check which companies are not meeting their DMO obligations. They have Simbara (the Mineral and Coal Information System) with real-time information. Every miner must input data into Simbara on how much they produce, how much royalty they pay, their DMO obligations, and so on,” Yusri said.
CERI expressed puzzlement that mining companies could still export when they had not met their DMO.
“If a company violates the rules, it automatically should not get an export permit. No miner can export without an export recommendation from the Director General of Minerals and Coal to the Director General of Foreign Trade,” Yusri continued.
CERI also highlighted the toothless penalties imposed by the ESDM Ministry on mining companies that fail to meet their DMO.
“If a company meets its DMO, the cost of production through to delivery at coal-fired power plants is around 45 dollars. If it fails to meet the DMO, the fine is 5 dollars per tonne. Meanwhile, the international market price is around 68 dollars per tonne. So if a mining company skips the DMO in favour of exports, it still profits 17–18 dollars per tonne,” he said.