TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian police's Corruption Eradication Task Force has unveiled the alleged corruption case involving coal supply for coal-fired power plants (PLTU) during the 2018-2026 period. This is believed to be one of the factors behind frequent power outages across regions in Indonesia.
The task force's head of operations, Grand Commissioner Ahmad Yusuf Afandi, said the methods used for the crime involved data manipulation related to the quantity and quality of coal. "We also detected an alleged manipulation of coal payments," Yusuf said on Tuesday, July 7, 2026.
Yusuf cited a gap in the coal calorific content between the reported value and the actual quality, causing consumers to pay higher coal prices than they should.
"So, once used for fuel combustion in PLTU, it is quickly depleted, while it should have lasted for longer periods," he said, adding that this may have contributed to the rolling blackouts experienced in various regions.
But Yusuf denied that the alleged corruption specifically triggered the blackouts across Sumatra a couple months ago. According to him, the results of the Criminal Investigation Unit of the National Police's probe indicated that the power outages were caused by disruption of the transmission network cables at the main substation in Jambi.
The blackouts triggered by this alleged corruption occurred more generally in several regions of Indonesia. "The incident occurred recently. But indications of fraud started in 2018," he said.
Authorities estimated around Rp5 trillion in state losses due to the coal supply corruption. Nevertheless, the exact figures will be released later, as investigators are still working with the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) to conduct an official investigative audit.
Investigators found indications of irregularities in the procurement process and fulfillment of coal supply carried out by PT OBP and PT BRA. The police elevated this case into the investigation phase on July 4, 2026.
Annisa Febiola contributed to the writing of this article.
Read: Bahlil Says Coal Supply Crunch at PLN Resolved: Why Did It Happen?
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