Enviro News Asia, Jakarta — Indonesia needs to accelerate efforts to build a more resilient electricity system as rising power demand and escalating climate risks increase pressure on the national grid, according to the Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR).
Indonesia continues to experience rising electricity demand to support economic growth. At the same time, climate change is altering people’s lifestyles and contributing to higher electricity consumption.
However, the growing frequency of hydrometeorological disasters and climate-related disruptions has exposed vulnerabilities in Indonesia’s power system. Several systemic electricity disruptions were recorded in Aceh and North Sumatra in May 2026 and in Java in June 2026.
Deon Arinaldo, Director of Energy System Transformation at IESR, said Indonesia needs to accelerate efforts to mitigate rising global temperatures through changes in the electricity supply system.
“Decarbonizing the electricity system has become urgent because its impacts extend beyond the power system to the economy and society as a whole,” Deon said during a webinar titled “Weathering Storm—Reforming Indonesia’s National Grid Resilience amid Escalating Climate Crisis Impacts.”
Alvin Sisdwinugraha, Project Manager of IESR’s Nusantara Transmission Interconnection Initiative (INTAN), presented findings from an IESR Insight Paper outlining two electricity planning scenarios.
The first is a constrained buildout scenario, in which generation capacity is expanded in line with the National Electricity General Plan (RUKN) and Electricity Supply Business Plan (RUPTL). The second is an optimization, or unconstrained buildout, scenario.
“If we choose the first scenario, existing power plants will need to work harder by increasing their generation. Under the second scenario, renewable generation, particularly solar power, is optimized alongside battery energy storage systems (BESS),” Alvin said.
He said the optimization scenario would provide greater resilience against climate risks because it reduces exposure to volatile fuel costs, has relatively low risks of heat-related generation capacity reductions, and can be implemented more quickly before climate impacts become more severe.
Ahmad Amiruddin, Director of Electricity Program Development at the Directorate General of Electricity of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, acknowledged the risk of declining generation capacity due to climate change.
“From a generation capacity planning perspective, this can be addressed, among other measures, by adding generation capacity. More serious challenges lie in the transmission system and financing, as it remains difficult to attract investment into the transmission sector,” Ahmad said.
He added that the government’s 100 GW solar power program makes strengthening the transmission network increasingly urgent.
Financing for electricity transmission infrastructure is also a concern, according to Tiza Mafira, Director of the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI).
The 2025–2034 Electricity Supply Business Plan targets the development of 48,000 circuit kilometers of additional transmission lines, requiring an estimated USD 29 billion in financing.
“So far, only around 5.5% of the required funding for the transmission network has been secured. Diversifying funding sources and developing project-financing models will be necessary to close this investment gap,” Tiza said.
IESR Research and Innovation Director Raditya Yudha Wiranegara highlighted the need to integrate electricity system planning with maps of disaster-prone areas.
Such integration would help identify potential hazards not only around power generation facilities but also along transmission corridors.
“Climate change does not only affect air temperatures around power plants. It also affects the quality of the air entering power plants and their performance, because thermal power plants require air for their combustion systems,” Raditya said.
Zainal Arifin, Director of the Center for Energy Transition and Sustainability at IT PLN, said decarbonization requires greater priority to be given to flexible electricity systems and distributed generation.
“Community participation through rooftop solar PV should be maximized, without the need for quota restrictions,” Zainal said.
The experts emphasized that strengthening grid resilience will require coordinated action on generation, transmission, financing, disaster-risk planning, renewable energy integration, and community participation as Indonesia faces increasingly severe climate risks. (*)
