It seems the rising trend in the coal price would continue yet. In January, 2018, the price of coal with a calorie of 6,322 rose again to US$95.54 per ton, or more than Rp1,297,000 per ton.

In February, the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) again set a higher reference price of coal (HBA) at US$100.69 per ton. No wonder if the cost of power provision would rise to as high as around Rp23.8 trillion.

Certainly, PLN could not be alone carry the burden. The indication is clear . In the first nine months of 2017, PLN's profit shrank to Rp3.06 trillion from Rp10.98 trillion in the same period in the previous year. If the condition is allowed to go, it is almost certain PLN would collapse.

Meanwhile, an economist, the founder and principal of The Indonesian Economic Intelligence, Sunarsip, said based on data from the World Bank, it is predicted that coal price would reach stability with weak demand especially from China, which seeks to reduce coal consumption in favor of gas, which is cleaner.

Sunarsip said coal mining cost in Indonesia is relatively high, adding high mining cost resulted in rising coal price.

Therefore, Sunarsip and colleagues have set various assumptions that cost of fuel makes up 60 percent of production cost, and coal accounts for 55 percent of primary energy components in the country that every increase of 10 percent in coal reference price HBA would result in a 3.3 percent rise in production cost .

That is the reason for support for independent audit of coal producers, he said.

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