Regulations
A coal power plant has been restored to the Java grid, but state-owned electricity firm PLN's deeper issues persist: a $70 price cap that bars it from competing for supply, regulatory ambiguity over where domestic coal flows and a compensation fund that remains in limbo.
A generator is used to keep the lights on at a store in Padangsidimpuan city, North Sumatra, on May 22, 2026. (kompas.com/Oryza Pasaribu)
A coal power plant has been restored to the Java grid, but state-owned electricity firm PLN's deeper issues persist: a US$70 price cap that bars it from competing for supply, regulatory ambiguity over where domestic coal flows and a compensation fund that remains in limbo.PLN says the Java electricity system is beginning to stabilize after one of two troubled coal-fired power plants was brought back online.
PLN president director Darmawan Prasodjo said two plants owned by independent power producers began experiencing operational disruptions last week. However, one facility resumed operations and began feeding power into the grid at 6 p.m. on Sunday.
