An overview of Indonesia’s coal export ban and Asia’s energy crisis

A coal barge off the coast of Kalimantan, Indonesia. Courtesy of Andrew Taylor. Used via (CC BY 2.0) Coal prices have shot up around the world this month after Indonesia — the fourth biggest coal producer in the world — temporarily banned coal exports from January 1 to January 31 after domestic stockpiles at the state-owned PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) power plants fell to critically low levels. By December 31, the PLN had less than 1 percent of the coal it needed this month, according to officials from Indonesia’s Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources. Without the ban, islands includ…

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