President Jokowi: Energy Transition Cannot Be Delayed

Indonesian President Joko Widodo, popularly known as Jokowi, asked PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) and PT Pertamina not to delay the energy transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy (EBT). Both state-owned enterprises must prepare detailed transition plans soon. Jokowi argued that the use of fossil fuels and minerals would be stopped at some point. For the record, PLN still uses large amounts of coal for power generation, while Pertamina's focus is still the oil and gas industry.

"This energy transition cannot be delayed. Therefore, the planning, the grand design must be prepared early, what it is going to be next year, what it will be in five years, ten years from now, for example, what kind of [fossil fuel consumption] will be stopped," says the president in front of the PLN and Pertamina directors and commissioners, which was broadcast through the Presidential Secretariat's YouTube channel on Saturday. Currently, Indonesia's energy mix is still dominated by coal at 67 percent, followed by oil (15 percent) and gas (eight percent). "If we can switch it to other energies, for example, cars are replaced with the electric ones, household gas is replaced with electricity, PLN will no longer be in oversupply, and Pertamina's oil imports will be down," Jokowi explained.