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View all search resultsAnalysis: Why transmission matters more than ever
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single lightning strike on a 275 kV transmission line in Jambi on May 22, 2026, triggered a cascading blackout that left millions across Sumatra without power and reportedly cost lives. The incident exposed a critical weakness in Indonesia’s transmission network, highlighting that grid resilience may be just as important as generation capacity as the country pursues industrialization, digitalization and renewable energy deployment.
The conversation that followed the blackout has rightly focused on state electricity company PLN’s accountability. But accountability without structural change produces apologies, not solutions. PLN’s transmission challenge is not a consequence of inadequate technical capability. Rather, it stems from asking a single institution to plan, finance and operate generation, transmission and distribution across one of the world’s largest archipelagos.
When capital is scarce, transmission often loses out because it does not generate direct revenue in the way power plants do. Moreover, with significant financial resources tied up in take-or-pay commitments from earlier capacity expansion programs, transmission investment frequently struggles to compete for limited capital. The question worth asking is not how to make PLN better at transmission, but whether transmission should remain PLN’s responsibility at all.
The problem is not that PLN has failed. It is that PLN has been asked to do too much. As Indonesia expands renewable energy, digital infrastructure and industrial activity, the demands placed on the electricity system are becoming increasingly complex. The latest Electricity Supply Business Plan (RUPTL) projects demand rising from 306 terawatt-hours (TWh) in 2024 to 511 TWh by 2034, alongside the addition of 42.6 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy capacity.
Yet many renewable energy resources are located far from major demand centers, making transmission infrastructure increasingly critical. Under the current model, transmission investment must compete with generation, distribution and other priorities for limited capital. The result is a growing risk that the networks needed to connect future supply and demand will not expand at the pace required by Indonesia’s economic and energy ambitions.
Addressing this challenge does not require dismantling PLN or reducing the state’s role in the electricity sector. What it requires is a more deliberate separation of functions. Countries that have successfully expanded their grids to support rapid industrialization and large-scale renewable energy deployment generally provide transmission with a dedicated mandate, clear planning authority and financing mechanisms insulated from competing priorities elsewhere in the power sector.
China’s experience, in particular, demonstrates how transmission can be treated as a strategic asset backed by long-term planning and financing support. Indonesia does not need to replicate any specific model, but it is worth asking whether the current arrangement gives transmission the attention and investment it requires.
