Director of the Center of Economic and Law Studies (CELIOS) Bhima Yudhistira said that there were positive and negative sides to rising coal prices. On the one hand, the increase in coal prices at the international level can boost foreign exchange. In the end, it will boost the trade balance surplus. "So that when there is an invasion in Ukraine, the stability of the exchange rate is still maintained. This is partly because of the effect of the increase in coal prices so that there is greater revenue," said Bhima, Sunday (6/3/2022).

However, domestically, the consistent increase in the price of coal carries risks for several indications, such as the potential increase in the basic electricity tariff, especially from PLTU.

Bhima said the impact would be everywhere if there was an adjustment to the basic electricity tariff. One of them is the high inflation in the country.

Not only that, in terms of production costs, especially for industries that rely on electricity from the power plant, such as textiles, apparel, footwear, and leather industries such as the ceramic industry, it is necessary to pay attention to the effect on the cost of production of the manufacturing industry.

Another consequence is that if the price of coal rises too high, there is a possibility that the portion of the coal DMO will be increased, because the government wants to secure coal stocks for domestic electricity.

"One more thing, the impact on state revenue is actually being helped, both taxes from mining and from PNBP from the coal sector, it also helps increase tax revenues throughout 2022," he added.

Bhima added that there is a possibility that the increase in coal prices can offset the price of oil and gas which burdens the state budget. "Then there is also a compensation fund. So some of the profits from coal revenues are included in the compensation fund. So that the basic tariff for electricity, then fuel, can be maintained so that the price does not experience a significant spike," he said.