- Indonesia’s Public Affairs Committee (KIP) has ordered state-owned power company PLN to disclose emissions data for some of the country’s largest coal-fired power plants.
- Civil society groups hailed the decision as a victory over government opacity and a major step towards public health accountability.
- But KIP’s decision is not the end of the story. There is a long history of various government departments simply refusing to comply with data disclosure orders, and it is unclear whether PLN will buck that trend.
JAKARTA – Indonesia’s government’s information agency has ordered state-owned power company PLN to disclose emissions data for some of the country’s largest coal-fired power plants.
The decision by the Committee for Public Affairs (KIP) is in response to a complaint filed in 2023 by Margaretha Aquina, international programs lawyer for UK-based advocacy group Earthsight. The complaint focused on PLN’s refusal to disclose emissions and waste management data for its coal-fired power plants in Suralaya, Banten province, and Ombilin, West Sumatra province, upon request.
In a January 18 decision, KIP said that given that PLN is state-owned and funded by the public, the data in question is public information and should be made available to the public. However, while KIP ordered the release of emissions data from Suralaya, which consists of eight coal-fired power plants, and Ombilin, a single power plant, it ordered the release of waste management data from Ombilin power plant. It was only.
PLN had argued that the requested data should be hidden from public view because it is a trade secret and could be used to spread disinformation.
“If such data can benefit the public, [if disclosed] Imagine what the consequences would be if it were treated like a trade secret,” Margareta said at a press conference last year. “Imagine how journalists can assess where Jakarta’s pollution comes from. Imagine what would happen if we did.”
He cited a past case in which the government disclosed emissions data from another power plant in Indramayu, West Java province, at the request of an environmental NGO.
“We did not find any specific provisions in trade secret law that would protect the data we requested,” Margareta said. “And even if it’s considered a trade secret, [emissions data] The document was shared in the past. Therefore, it is questionable. ”
Data for public health
Activists welcomed KIP’s decision, saying it sets a precedent in defending people’s right to public information and a clean environment. They called on all institutions and companies that pollute the environment to proactively disclose emissions data without waiting for the public to request data. Emissions data is critical to public health, they said, so data transparency should be a fundamental norm for protecting public health.
Alfie Shukri, a lawyer at the Legal Aid Foundation (LBH) in Padang, West Sumatra, where the Ombilin power plant is located, said the release of the data would allow the public to monitor power plant operations and detect emissions exceeding permissible limits. He said it would be.
“Publicly available information can be used to inform the public about the emissions and waste management of the Ombilin coal-fired power plant. [the plant operator] No violation [environmental safeguards] Over and over again,” he said.
Airlanga Julio, a lawyer who represented Margareta in her complaint to KIP, said the dispute highlights the importance of public transparency in protecting public health, even though PLN is a state-owned company. He said it highlighted how little he understood.
“The time has come for PLN and all state-owned and private companies to make their data public,” he said in a press release. “Some countries have sufficient public transparency to help citizens prevent or avoid the effects of environmental pollution. PLN and other state-owned enterprises should start reforming. [themselves] and recognize the importance of public transparency for a clean and healthy environment. ”
A “disease” that is not disclosed
Activists also called on KIP to ensure PLN complied with its orders, citing a long history of government agencies and state-owned enterprises ignoring previous KIP orders.
Novita Indri, an activist with Trend Asia, an NGO that advocates for a sustainable energy transition, said the PLN incident is part of a larger trend of government agencies withholding data from the public.
“This disease is prevalent in all ministries under President Joko Widodo’s current administration,” Novita said. “It is difficult for the general public to access information.Response [from the government] Information is always excluded from public information. Or no response at all. ”
Emissions from coal-fired power plants have attracted increasing public attention in recent years as a cause of often toxic air quality in some Indonesian cities, particularly the capital Jakarta.
Last year, Jakarta’s air quality deteriorated so much that it was ranked the most polluted city on earth for several days. That’s why it’s important that the public has access to power plant emissions data so they can determine how much power plants contribute to air pollution and advocate for cleaner air and stricter environmental protections. said Margaretha.
Banner image: Suralaya coal-fired power plant in Indonesia. Image courtesy of Trend Asia.
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