This article has been translated by PwC Indonesia as part of our Indonesia Infrastructure News Service. PwC Indonesia has not checked the accuracy of, and accepts no responsibility for the content.
Bisnis Indonesia - Akhir cerita bisnis PLTU TOBA
22 May 2025
By lim F. Timorria and Dionisio D. Tonce
Jakarta, ID – PT TBS Energi Utama Tbk (TOBA) has officially ended its coal-based electricity supply business by completing the divestment of its last coal-fired power plant (PLTU) asset.
TOBA’s Director, Alvin Firman Sunanda, stated in a letter to the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) that the company had sold its entire 80% shareholding in PT Gorontalo Listrik Perdana (GLP) to PT Kalibiru Sulawesi Abadi (KSA).
"The GLP transaction has been completed based on the signing of the share acquisition deed dated 16 May 2025, with TOBA as the seller and KSA as the buyer," he disclosed in a public statement.
TOBA’s management confirmed that the completion of the GLP divestment marks the full disposal of the company’s PLTU assets.
The publicly traded company, affiliated with Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, had previously divested 90% of its shares in PT Minahasa Cahaya Lestari (MCL) to KSA on 5 March 2025.
The GLP power plant in Gorontalo has a capacity of 2×50 megawatts (MW), as does the MCL power plant in North Minahasa.
With the completion of both divestments, TOBA has relinquished a total power generation capacity of 200 MW from its portfolio.
"This move is projected to reduce TBS’s carbon emissions by more than 80%, equivalent to around 1.3 million tonnes of CO₂e per year," the company stated.
The projection was calculated using the greenhouse gas (GHG) protocol methodology and has undergone pre-assurance by an independent external auditor.
TOBA’s management also noted that this step further strengthens the company’s focus on accelerating its business portfolio transformation towards waste processing, electric vehicles, and renewable energy.
As outlined in its 2024 Sustainability Report, TOBA is also targeting the cessation of its coal mining operations as part of its long-term commitment to achieving carbon neutrality. The company plans to phase out coal mining activities between 2026 and 2030, using carbon trading mechanisms to reduce emissions.
This target is ambitious, given that coal mining is a major revenue driver for the company. In 2024, the coal mining segment generated US$243.60 million, accounting for around 55% of total revenue, which stood at US$445.64 million.
Meanwhile, coal trading contributed US$116.58 million, and the PLTU business generated US$59.86 million. Additionally, the waste management segment and other businesses, including electric vehicles, contributed US$13.12 million and US$12.47 million, respectively.
"By 2030, at least 80% of our EBITDA is expected to come from low-carbon businesses, reaffirming our commitment to a sustainable energy transition," TOBA’s President Director, Dicky Yordan, stated in the company's sustainability report.
Meanwhile, the Global Methane Tracker report, published by the International Energy Agency (IEA), revealed that Indonesia ranked third globally in coal sector methane emissions in 2024.
Indonesia’s coal production activities released 2.4 million tonnes of methane that year, equivalent to the short-term climate impact of 198 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO₂).
Comparatively, China recorded the highest methane emissions from the coal sector, releasing 18.5 million tonnes, followed by Russia at 3.4 million tonnes. India and the United States each emitted 1.9 million tonnes and 1.7 million tonnes, respectively.
Indonesia’s 2024 methane emissions were also 26% higher than emissions from the entire transport sector in 2019, based on the global warming potential of methane over 20 years, which is 82.5 times greater.
The annual figures far exceed the coal mine methane emissions reported by Indonesia to the UNFCCC in 2019, which were only around 100,000 tonnes of methane. This discrepancy indicates inaccuracies in methane reporting.
In its report, the IEA emphasised that reducing methane emissions to target levels does not require breakthrough technologies. It also pointed out that efforts to cut coal mine methane emissions by half would not entail high costs.
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