Jakarta. Experts have urged state electricity company PLN's new leadership to improve power reliability, warning that recurring blackouts could deter investment in Indonesia.

PLN appointed Suroso Isnandar to replace Darmawan Prasodjo as president director on Wednesday, following widespread outages in Batam, a major data center and industrial hub. The change comes as sovereign wealth fund Danantara pushes to overhaul PLN's business model and improve efficiency. PLN's Batam subsidiary has also been placed directly under Danantara.

Public policy analyst Trubus Rahardiansah said dependable electricity was essential to Indonesia's target of attracting Rp 2 quadrillion ($111 billion) in investment this year.

"Unstable electricity supply can be a headache for investors," Trubus told the Jakarta Globe, urging Suroso to restore public and international confidence.

The Batam chapter of the Indonesian Economists Association (ISEI) estimated that the outages cost local industry and services Rp 233 billion ($13 million).

Airlangga University economist Rahma Gafmi called for layered backup systems in industrial and export hubs, clear restoration timelines and automatic compensation or billing adjustments for affected customers.

Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR) chief Fabby Tumiwa proposed that PLN concentrate on transmission and distribution while allowing private companies to operate more power plants. He argued that this could ease PLN's financial burden and strengthen service reliability.

PLN remains heavily reliant on government support to keep electricity affordable. In 2025, it recorded Rp 582.68 trillion ($32.4 billion) in revenue and Rp 7.26 trillion in net profit, alongside Rp 87.46 trillion in subsidies and Rp 112.73 trillion in government compensation.

UPN Veteran Jakarta economist Achmad Nur Hidayat said the figures highlighted structural tensions between affordable tariffs and growing investment needs.

"Reducing network investment to improve short-term financial statements may actually increase the risk of future blackouts," he warned.

Danantara Chief Executive Officer Rosan Roeslani said Wednesday that President Prabowo Subianto had instructed the sovereign wealth fund to review PLN's business model and submit recommendations for improving the company's efficiency, productivity and responsiveness.

"The main objective is to accelerate PLN's transformation so that it becomes better, faster and more responsive," Rosan said. "The president also wants to accelerate the development of 100 gigawatts of solar power capacity."

The planned transformation is expected to improve PLN's operational efficiency and productivity while reducing the government's subsidy burden, he added.

Beyond the company's business model, Prabowo also called for a review of PLN's ability to respond to emergencies and unexpected disruptions to electricity supply.

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