Saguling dam in West Bandung regency of West Java, Indonesia (Photo: Joakarta Post)
The Trade Ministry of Indonesia has called for progress to promote the ASEAN Power Grid (APG) initiative, which can help the country deal with its current electricity oversupply, including by exporting excess power to neighbouring countries.
At the ASEAN Economic Ministers' (AEM) Special Meeting in May, the ministry expressed its wish for other ASEAN member states to re-start long-time initiatives like the APG to dampen the impact of high energy prices.
The APG is a plan to interconnect power grids in the region by progressing from bilateral cross-border agreements to subregional agreements and, finally, full regional integration. The plan’s implementation relies on the development of harmonized transmission infrastructure and trading regulations.
At the AEM, Indonesian Trade Minister Muhammad Lutfi said deeper ASEAN economic cooperation was imperative as the current multilateral trading system faced multiple challenges that could render the World Trade Organisation (WTO) ineffective.
According to, ASEAN negotiations director of the Indonesian Trade Ministry Dina Kurniasari, the APG will complement regional value chains to increase the region's comparative advantage and at the same time meet the region's energy security needs.
This initiative is expected to solve the problem of electricity oversupply in Indonesia, she said.
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