{"text":[[{"start":7.34,"text":"One of the world’s biggest coal producers has suffered a summer of blackouts, leaving homes and businesses across south-east Asia’s biggest economy with erratic power."}],[{"start":17.64,"text":"Indonesia last year cut mining quotas by nearly a quarter as part of efforts to boost prices for producers. That, combined with rising costs linked to the war in Iran, slowed output in the third-largest producer of thermal coal. Output then rose as providers sought — with limited success — to resolve the shortages."}],[{"start":37.6,"text":"Businesses have borne the brunt across the archipelago, where fossil fuel accounts for two-thirds of all electricity generated there."}],[{"start":44.74,"text":"This week President Prabowo Subianto summoned energy minister Bahlil Lahadalia and ordered his office and state utility PLN to “speed up the handling of power outages that are still taking place in a number of areas”."}],[{"start":58.32,"text":"Indonesia relies on cheap coal plants to power its nickel processing sector, a crucial economic driver and cornerstone of the global supply chain for stainless steel and electric vehicles. The shortages highlight Jakarta’s reliance on coal, despite its commitment to retiring coal plants within the next 15 years and the lack of investment in renewable infrastructure."}],[{"start":79.68,"text":"“Indonesia’s power sector still relies heavily on coal despite its abundant renewable energy potential,” said Yusuf Kresna, energy finance analyst at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis."}],[{"start":92.64,"text":"“Expanding solar, wind and hydropower would . . . strengthen long-term energy security.”"}],[{"start":98.1,"text":"At the heart of the recent crisis is a longstanding policy of forcing miners to sell a portion of their coal output to domestic buyers at below-market prices."}],[{"start":null,"text":"
"}],[{"start":107.52,"text":"Under the so-called domestic market obligations (DMO) established in 2009 to ensure domestic supply, curtail prices and protect PLN, all coal miners are required to sell a quarter of their production to local buyers."}],[{"start":121.44,"text":"Sales to the grid are capped at $70 per metric tonne — a price set in 2018 and far below current market prices. Instead of increasing the amount of coal available on the Indonesian market, the policy has encouraged some buyers to pay a non-compliance penalty rather than sell locally."}],[{"start":138.6,"text":"The amount of coal available also shrank after the energy ministry set the coal-mining quota at 600mn tonnes, down from 790mn last year, in an effort to stabilise prices. Among those hardest hit by the resultant shortages were the nation’s small businesses. The vast majority of the country’s estimated small enterprises do not have any backup if power fails, said the Indonesian Micro and Small Businesses Association."}],[{"start":166.38,"text":"“The production quota cuts are a major factor [for the blackouts], exacerbated by the longstanding issue of coal price and quality disparities,” said FH Kristiono, head of coal studies of the Association of Indonesian Mining Professionals."}],[{"start":181.6,"text":"Non-compliance with domestic quotas is also thought to have risen because of higher production costs linked to the Iran war, experts said."}],[{"start":189.32,"text":"“Indonesia already has strict penalties for companies that fail to meet their DMO obligations. The challenge is ensuring these rules are consistently enforced and monitored,” said Kresna. “More importantly, the long-term solution is to reduce reliance on DMO by accelerating renewable energy deployment and retiring inefficient coal-fired power plants,” he said."}],[{"start":210.8,"text":"PLN and the energy ministry did not reply to requests for comment. PLN previously denied that a coal shortage hit power supply. It has instead cited “technical issues” at two major plants on the island of Java and repairs at a plant in Kalimantan."}],[{"start":226.46,"text":"The government also initially rejected the idea that its policies had resulted in blackouts. Energy minister Lahadalia has said the government will study the possibility of reviewing the price cap."}],[{"start":237.12,"text":"Any “solution must also address the structural issue”, said Kristiono. The domestic obligation “significantly reduces profitability for mines”, he added."}],[{"start":252.16,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1786328777_3966.mp3"}