By Calvin Purba
The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) has yet to decide on the early retirement of coal-fired power plants (PLTUs) due to insufficient funding to support the initiative.
“Are we being forced to shut down these PLTUs? Who will finance it? We were promised donor institutions would provide the funding, but where are they? So far, there’s nothing—zero,” said Bahlil Lahadalia, Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, during the Beritasatu Outlook 2025 event on Thursday (January 30).
Bahlil emphasized that the early retirement plan will only move forward once a committed funding source is secured. “Should we use APBN (state budget) funds or have PLN issue new bonds to finance this? We’re willing, but the money must come first. If there’s no money, sorry, boss. We need to prioritize domestic needs. It has to be fair.”
Read also : PLN: Retiring coal plants must be financially sustainable for Indonesia
Eniya Listiani Dewi, the Director-General of New and Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation (EBTKE) at the Ministry of ESDM, stated that $4.8 billion is required to retire the PLTUs early.
“If we proceed with the early retirement of PLTUs, the funding must be secured as a complete package—up to $4.8 billion. This amount needs to be confirmed upfront. The Minister mentioned it should be upfront, right? How much exactly needs to be upfront? That’s still unclear, and no agreement has been reached yet,” Eniya said on the sidelines of the event.
She also noted that the government and state-owned electricity firm PT PLN did not address the issue of PLTU early retirements when drafting PLN’s new Electricity Supply Business Plan (RUPTL).
Foreign donors, through the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP), had previously pledged a $20 billion climate financing package to support Indonesia’s energy transition and reduce the country’s reliance on coal. However, the promised funds for the early retirement of coal power plants have yet to materialize.
Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak
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