Insyallah (God Willing), we believe the energy crisis will not occur.Lebak, Banten (ANTARA) - The Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) made assurance that Indonesia will not experience an energy crisis despite the government having reopened coal exports.
"Insyallah (God Willing), we believe that the energy crisis will not occur,” Kadin Chairman Arsjad Rasjid stated while inaugurating the Banten provincial Chamber of Commerce and industry in Lebak on Wednesday.
The national coal production is currently outstripping the domestic needs, including supplies to thermal power plants (PLTUs), he pointed out.
Rasjid remarked that Kadin supports the government’s decision to reopen coal exports.
“We highly support coal exports in the interest of the nation,” he noted.
The Kadin chairman affirmed that the country’s coal stocks are abundant and sufficient to meet the energy needs.
The national coal production stands at 50 million tons per month, while coal supplies to state electricity company PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) reach 10 million tons per month.
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“I think no problem will be encountered if the government reopens coal exports,” he stated.
The Indonesian government, through the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, has temporarily banned coal exports during the period from January 1 to January 31, 2022, to ensure the availability of coal stocks for domestic power plants.
The export ban is aimed at the holders of mining business permits (IUPs) and coal mine company work contracts (PKP2Bs), director general of mineral and coal at the ministry, Ridwan Jamaludin, noted in a statement issued recently.
Declining coal supply could affect over 10 million customers of state-run electric company PT PLN (Persero), he stated.
This figure constitutes both the general public and the industry, he noted.
Jamaludin cautioned that if the export ban is not enforced, it could cause an outage at 20 coal-fired power stations generating 10,850 megawatts of power.
"This could potentially disturb the stability of the national economy. When coal supply for the power plants is sufficient or returns to normal, then we can export," Jamaludin noted. Related news: Adequate energy storage needed to prevent crisis: PGN
Translator: Mansyur suryana, Suharto
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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