Indonesian government said that it had asked domestic coal producers to set aside 30% of their output next year to meet demand from new coal fired power plants.

Mr Darwin Saleh energy minister of Indonesia told members of the House of Representatives Commission VII said that "The government needs a guaranteed coal supply to support the 10,000 MW fast track program. Therefore, all coal producers should allocate 30% of their production to the domestic market."

Mr Darwin said that domestic demand for coal in 2010 had been estimated at 65 million tonnes, of which 85% would be needed for power plants. He said the quota for domestic producers would be updated every year.

Mr Bambang Setiawan director general of coal, minerals and geothermal energy at the ministry said that the government would limit coal exports to 150 million tonnes next year.

Mr Bob Kamandanu chairman of Indonesian Coal Producers Association said that "I'm confused why the government wants a 30% quota for domestic supply next year because I don't think the domestic market could absorb that much. The association has calculated that we could produce around 270 million tonnes next year. That means 81 million tonnes would be for domestic use while demand would only be at 60 to 70 millions."

The energy ministry has forecasts that the country would produce about 230 million tonnes of coal this year. Output totaled 172 million tonnes as of the end of August 2009. About 20% or 34.7 million tonnes had gone to the domestic market.

(Sourced from www.thejakartaglobe.com)