PLN completed only 37% of planned transmission lines in 2025, ministry says
Friday, July 10 2026 - 05:10 PM WIB
By Raymond Hendriawan
State utility PLN completed only 37% of the electricity transmission lines targeted under its 2025 power supply business plan (RUPTL), with delays caused mainly by land acquisition and permits to cross forest areas, an Energy Ministry official said on Wednesday.
The shortfall comes after a series of major power outages in Sumatra this year that raised concerns over the reliability of Indonesia's electricity grid.
Rahadian Wahyu Pradipta, a coordinator at the Ministry's Directorate General of Electricity, said PLN completed about 3,241 circuit-kilometres of transmission lines in 2025, well below the target of nearly 9,000 circuit-kilometres.
"Only 37% of the transmission projects listed in the RUPTL could be executed," Rahadian said during a webinar hosted by the Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR).
He said the delayed projects were not only intended to connect new electricity demand but also to strengthen the reliability of existing transmission networks.
Rahadian said the delays were mainly caused by difficulties in obtaining permits to use forest areas and acquiring land for transmission corridors, as well as differences between planned transmission routes and actual conditions encountered during project execution.
"We don't see it as blaming any one party," he said. "PLN has made its best efforts to meet the targets in the RUPTL, but there are factors beyond the control of both PLN and the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources."
Asked about the role of extreme weather following the recent outages in Sumatra, Rahadian said weather was one of the external factors affecting grid operations.
The remarks follow widespread blackouts in Jambi in May and North Sumatra in June, which highlighted vulnerabilities in Indonesia's transmission network.
At the same event, Annisa Urfa, climate change management manager at PLN, said the utility currently incorporates climate risks into its general risk management framework rather than treating them as a separate category.
She said PLN was still studying how to integrate climate-risk scenarios into long-term power system planning, adding that while the company had made significant progress in planning for the energy transition, climate adaptation planning remained less developed.
Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak