Although often overshadowed by significantly larger energy systems in India and China, Indonesia is assuming an increasingly important role in international energy markets and global efforts to address climate change. In Transforming the power sector in developing countries: Indonesia’s diversification challenge, Global Energy Center Senior Fellow Dr. Robert F. Ichord, Jr. identifies the challenges Indonesia faces in the energy sector and provides recommendations for policy makers and other stakeholders on strategic priorities. As Ichord points out, Indonesia is a critical country for international power sector transformation—the question is how to meet Indonesia’s growing electricity needs in a clean, efficient, and affordable manner.

In the report, Ichord argues for certain priorities Indonesia should consider in creating a sound policy, legal, and regulatory environment. Key challenges including developing an efficient institutional market structure, achieving a cleaner and more resilient generation mix, enhancing regional electricity interconnections, and expanding electricity access to the poor and many off-grid island communities. Ichord also points out that the United States has major strategic, economic, and environmental interests in supporting this transformation, and should build on Vice President Mike Pence’s April 2017 visit to Indonesia to further cooperation and commercial engagement with Indonesia in the energy sector.

This report is the third in the Atlantic Council Global Energy Center series, Transforming the Power Sector in Developing Countries, which analyzes key countries within a “meta” strategic framework. Previous reports include A Strategic Framework for Post-Paris Action, published in October 2016, and The Critical Role of China in Post-Paris Implementation, published in March 2017.

 

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