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Philippines urges Indonesia to lift

coal export ban as talks proceed
Enrico Dela Cruz and Fransiska Nangoy | Reuters

Jakarta   /  Mon, January 10, 2022  /  11:45 am

Coal is unloaded from a barge at the Suralaya coal power plant

in Cilegon, Banten, on Sept. 22 last year. The government
banned coal exports starting Jan. 1 this year to address fuel
shortages in 20 power plants.(AFP/Ronald Siagian)

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The Philippines has become the third Asian

country to publicly urge Indonesia to lift its coal
export ban, adding more external pressure on the
Indonesian government, which is also facing
pressure at home from coal mining companies.

The Philippines' Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi

has appealed to Indonesia to lift the ban, saying
the policy will be detrimental to economies
heavily reliant on the fuel for power generation,
Manila's Department of Energy said on Monday.

Indonesia, the world's biggest thermal coal

exporter, suspended exports on Jan. 1 after state-
owned electricity company PLN reported
dangerously low inventory levels of the fuel at
domestic power stations.

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The ban drove coal prices in China and Australia

higher last week, while scores of vessels slated to
carry coal to major buyers such as Japan, China,
South Korea and India have been in limbo off
Kalimantan, home to Indonesia's main coal ports.

Read also: PLN’s coal shortage over, ministers

say

The Philippines' move follows similar requests

from Japan and South Korea.

Cusi made the appeal in a letter sent via the

Department of Foreign Affairs to Indonesia's
Energy and Mineral Resources Minister, Arifin
Tasrif, the energy department said in a news
release, without specifying when the letter was
sent.

Cusi had asked the foreign affairs department to

intercede and appeal on behalf of the Philippines
through the ASEAN cooperation mechanism.

The Philippines, which is still heavily dependent

on coal for power generation, buys most of its
requirements from Indonesia, and some, more
expensive, supplies from Australia and Vietnam.

Nearly 70 percent of the 42.5 million tons of

Philippine coal supply in 2020 was imported,
according to government data.

Power generated by coal comprises about 60

percent of the country's power mix, and in 2021
the country sourced 2.3 million tons per month
from Indonesia to fuel its power plants, the
energy department said.

Senator Win Gatchalian, who heads the Senate

energy committee, has called on the energy
department to prepare contingency measures
because of the export ban, including looking for
other potential suppliers.

Talks carry on

Indonesia's Coordinating Maritime Affairs and

Investment Minister Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan met
with coal miners and other related industry again
on Sunday, but has not made any decision yet
regarding resuming exports, said Hendra Sinadia,
executive director of the Indonesian Coal
Mining Association (APBI).

"One of the issues discussed was the limited

availability of vessels to transport the coal to
power plants," he said.

International buyers are monitoring closely

discussions between Indonesian authorities and
the local coal industry. An energy ministry
official had pledged to review the one-month ban
after Jan. 5.

Luhut has said that the coal supply emergency at

local power plants was over, but the government
still needed to continue discussing policies in
the area.

Read also: PLN’s coal shortage over, ministers

say

The discussion will be resumed on Monday, a

spokesman for the minister said on Sunday.

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