Indonesia's Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) has stated that it will closely monitor power supply to domestic nickel smelter areas amid the threat of the El Niño phenomenon.
Director General of Mineral and Coal at ESDM, Tri Winarno, said that reduced rainfall would impact nickel processing and refining operations, particularly facilities dependent on hydroelectric power plants (PLTA). "If the power supply comes from hydroelectric plants, there will naturally be some issues, but we will monitor the supply," Tri said after a working meeting with Commission XII of the Indonesian House of Representatives at the Senayan Parliamentary Complex on Monday (August 31, 2026).
Nevertheless, he made it clear that the oversight of smelter operations is divided based on whether the facility is integrated with mining permits. ESDM has the authority to supervise smelters that are directly integrated with mining concessions, while smelters holding independent Industrial Business Licenses (IUI) fall under the supervision of the Ministry of Industry. "We need to check first whether it is integrated or not. If it is, it falls under our authority [ESDM], but if it's an IUI, the license is under the Ministry of Industry," he said.
He confirmed that ESDM would continue to verify technical conditions on the ground and expressed hope that weather conditions would improve soon. "We will check and monitor, but hopefully it won't be affected--let it rain soon," he added.
Previously, PT Bumi Mineral Sulawesi (BMS), a nickel smelter owned by the Kalla Group in Luwu, South Sulawesi, experienced operational disruptions due to reduced power supply caused by water shortages at a hydroelectric plant. The smelter holds an Industrial Business License (IUI) issued by the Ministry of Industry, as it is not directly integrated with upstream mining concessions (IUP) under ESDM. The situation has led PT BMS to plan the temporary furlough of approximately 570 workers. The reduced power supply has also resulted in decreased production at PT BMS' RKEF Line 1 smelter.
