Jakarta. President Prabowo Subianto has summoned senior executives of state utility PLN to the Presidential Palace in Jakarta on Monday, as the government moves to address a series of power outages that recently affected parts of Java.

PLN President Director Darmawan Prasodjo and several directors arrived at the palace around midday to report on the handling of the blackout incidents and ongoing system recovery efforts.

Speaking before the meeting, Darmawan said Java’s electricity system had begun to stabilize since Sunday, with rolling blackouts significantly reduced.

“Starting Sunday, the electricity system condition in Java has begun to improve and rolling blackouts have been minimized,” he said.

He added that fuel supply to power plants — both PLN-owned facilities and independent power producers (IPPs) — had started to normalize last week, helping restore system resilience. PLN is also working to resolve technical disruptions at two major partner-operated power plants that had previously gone offline.

One of the two plants has already been restored and reconnected to the Java grid, Darmawan said.

The utility has deployed round-the-clock teams to monitor system performance, manage fuel supply chains, and accelerate recovery efforts.

“We are working all out 24 hours, seven days a week, to ensure system reliability is maintained and improved,” he said.

The recent outages, caused by coal shortages, affected several regions across Java, including Greater Jakarta, Cianjur, Semarang, and parts of Madura, with disruptions linked to technical issues at power plants and constraints in fuel supply chains.

Indonesia’s coal-fired plants rely heavily on medium-grade coal, but supply constraints have emerged as producers prioritize exports amid stronger global prices.

PLN requires around 154 million metric tons of coal annually but has secured contracts for about 134 million tons, leaving a gap of roughly 20 million tons, according to government estimates.

To address the issue, authorities have established a task force to secure coal supply for PLN, while also considering adjustments to the domestic market obligation (DMO) pricing scheme, which currently caps coal sold to PLN at US$70 per ton—well below international prices of around US$144 per ton.

Energy economist Fahmy Radhi of Gadjah Mada University said the outages have caused losses for both households and industries, which in some cases must rely on backup generators during power cuts.

He added that similar disruptions have occurred in previous years when coal supply shortages and export incentives led producers to prioritize overseas markets over domestic power needs.

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