Indonesia Endures June Blackouts With Losses Up to $562 Million as Coal Mismanagement Bites

3 articles · Updated · Foreign Policy · Jul 1

Rolling blackouts spread across Java, Sumatra, Bali and Indonesian Borneo through June, with areas around Jakarta losing power for several days despite government claims the problem was resolved.
Coal shortages — not a global energy shock — drove the outages after Jakarta cut production quotas to lift world prices, prompting miners to favor exports and dump lower-quality coal at home.
$173 million to $562 million in estimated losses have deepened business concerns that unreliable power will deter investment, especially in Java, the country’s main economic hub.
For President Prabowo Subianto, the outages add to pressure from rising food and fuel prices and student protests, raising the risk that power cuts become a broader political flashpoint.

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