TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search results
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search resultsRI gears up to retire diesel power plants amid war-driven energy fears
To prevent power outages, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia said that closures would be carried out gradually.
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia (right) delivers a press statement on Tuesday, March 3, 2026, in Jakarta on the latest developments in the Middle East and their implications for the energy and mineral resources sector. (Antara/Muhammad Adimaja)
T
he government is gearing up to retire diesel-powered power plants across the archipelago and replace them with renewables, including solar and geothermal power, in a strategic response to escalating geopolitical risks and price volatility.
Oil surged past US$100 a barrel on Monday to hit its highest since mid-2022, as supply cuts by Saudi Arabia and other producers in the Middle East amid the escalating United States-Israeli war with Iran, stoking fears of continued major global disruption.
Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa said in a media briefing on March 6 that “the worst-case scenario” was domestic crude averaging $92 per barrel throughout the year, far above the $70 projection set in the macroeconomic assumptions of the 2026 budget.
"In this climate of geopolitical conflict, we cannot be certain about our long-term energy needs," Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia said on Thursday, as reported by Kumparan.
"We are optimizing all domestic energy potential to move away from fossil fuels."
He went on to say that the government will implement the initial phase of the program in the "near future", focusing on diesel-reliant regions.
"The first thing we will resolve is the [...] power plants that use diesel. We will address all of that with solar power plants and geothermal power plants," Bahlil said.
