Jakarta—The government, through the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (MEMR), has finalised the latest draft of the General Plan for Electricity Supply (RUPTL), which includes an additional 71 Gigawatts (GW) of power generation capacity in the next 10 years. Around 65% of the capacity will be controlled by the private sector or Independent Power Producers (IPPs).
“Most of the new power plants will be encouraged to be built by the private sector. This is in line with our commitment to increase the role of the private sector in the development of the energy sector,” Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Bahlil Lahadalia said in an official statement during the inauguration of Jatigede Hydroelectric Power Plant on Monday, January 20.
According to Bahlil, this decision aims to encourage efficiency and ensure that the power plants built meet high-quality standards. “We will be very selective in determining private partners. Only credible parties that can build power plants will be given permission,” he said.
The latest RUPTL focuses on adding power generation capacity and strengthening the power grid infrastructure. PLN will be responsible for building a new 48,000-kilometer (km) network to support electricity distribution from power plants to consumers.
Meanwhile, PLN’s President Director, Darmawan Prasodjo, revealed that strengthening the electricity network is very important to supporting the success of New and Renewable Energy (NRE)-based power plants. One of the main problems today is a network infrastructure not designed to support NRE electricity. Therefore, we will ensure the construction of this new network can support these needs,” Darmawan explained.
The government is also targeting the development of new power plants that use environmentally friendly energy, such as solar, water, and wind power. Indonesia has abundant energy resources, but the challenge is to build infrastructure that can optimally utilise this potential,” Bahlil added.
With the plan to add 71 GW of capacity and new electricity networks, the government hopes to meet the growing national electricity demand and support the transition to cleaner and more sustainable energy. “This is not just a matter of increasing electricity capacity, but also about how to build a system that is efficient, environmentally friendly, and accessible to the entire community,” Bahlil added. (Hartatik)
