Coal is unloaded from a barge at the Suralaya coal power plant in Cilegon, Banten (Photo: AFP)Jakarta (VNA) – Philippine Secretary of EnergyAlfonso Cusi has appealed to Indonesia to lift its coal export ban, saying thepolicy will be detrimental to economies heavily reliant on the fuel for powergeneration, Reuters reported.
Indonesia, the world's biggest thermal coal exporter,suspended shipments on January 1 after its state power utility PLN reporteddangerously low inventory levels of the fuel at its domestic power stations.
Cusi made the appeal in a letter sent via the PhilippineDepartment of Foreign Affairs to Indonesian Minister of Energy and MineralResources Arifin Tasrif.
He had asked the Department of Foreign Affairs to intercede andappeal on behalf of the Philippines through the Association of Southeast AsianNations (ASEAN) cooperation mechanism.
The Philippines, which is still heavily dependent on coalfor power generation, buys most of its requirements from Indonesia, and somesupplies from Australia and Vietnam.
Nearly 70 percent of the 42.5 million tonnes of Philippinecoal supply in 2020 was imported, according to government data.
Power generated by coal comprises about 60 percent of thecountry's power mix, and in 2021 the Philippines sourced 2.3 million tonnes permonth from Indonesia to fuel its power plants, the Department of Energy said./.
