Internal Veteran Suroso Isnandar Takes Helm at State Utility PLN

JAKARTA, Investortrust.id — Indonesia’s state-owned power champion, PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (Persero), has installed veteran utility insider Suroso Isnandar as its new President Director, tapping an institutional engineer to lead Southeast Asia’s largest electricity monopoly through an accelerating energy transition.

The leadership transition was ratified during a General Meeting of Shareholders (RUPS) held on Wednesday night, Oct. 14, 2026. The move formally brings an end to the tenure of Darmawan Prasodjo, who led the state utility for roughly four years and ten months following his appointment in December 2021, after having previously served as deputy president director starting in late 2019.

Head of the State-Owned Enterprises Regulatory Agency (BP BUMN) Dony Oskaria confirmed the executive shake-up.

"Correct," Dony told Investortrust on Wednesday night when asked about the succession at the apex of the state utility.

The appointment of a career engineering insider to lead PLN signals a deliberate focus on technical execution and operational stability at a defining juncture for Indonesia's power grid. Under President Prabowo Subianto, the administration has elevated energy security and decarbonization into foundational pillars of national sovereignty, requiring massive capital outlays and regulatory alignment across generation, high-voltage transmission, and renewable expansion. Suroso inherits an operating utility tasked with balancing rapid load growth across industrial processing hubs against aggressive green targets, including a sweeping mandate to deploy up to 100 gigawatt peak (GWp) of solar power.

A Career Steered From the Inside

Unlike outside political or regulatory appointees, Suroso represents an institutional insider with more than three decades of direct operational history across PLN’s expansive transmission and generation networks.

Prior to his elevation to the top post, Suroso served as Director of Project Management and New and Renewable Energy (EBT) since June 2025, a role established under SOE Ministerial Decree No. SK-159/MBU/06/2025.

His operational resume covers critical frontline leadership across Indonesia's electricity backbone. From 2019 to 2021, he served as General Manager of PLN's Main Generation and Transmission Unit for Sulawesi, followed by a tenure steering the Java, Madura, and Bali Load Dispatch Center (P2B) between 2021 and 2022.

Between 2022 and 2023, Suroso headed the Digital and Information Technology Division at PLN headquarters, overseeing enterprise digitalization programs that underpin grid automation and commercial dispatch. He also served as director of risk management and holds credentials as a Qualified Risk Governance Professional (QRGP).

Born in Klaten on August 12, 1971, Suroso completed an undergraduate degree in Power System Engineering at the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) in 1994. He later earned a Master of Science in Power System Engineering and Management from the University of Abertay in the United Kingdom in 1999, followed by a doctorate in electrical engineering from ITB in 2025.

Advancing National Energy Targets

The executive change drew positive reactions from energy advocacy circles, which framed Suroso's institutional memory and deep technical background as essential assets for resolving persistent utility bottlenecks.

"We congratulate Mr. Suroso Isnandar on being entrusted as PLN President Director in line with the directives of President Prabowo Subianto," said H. Teuku Yudhistira, National Coordinator of the Electricity for the Nation Volunteers (Re-LUN), speaking in Jakarta on Wednesday night.

Yudhistira noted that Suroso’s ground-level experience across generation, grid management, and corporate risk gives him direct insight into the company's core operations.

"Suroso is an internal PLN professional through and through who deeply understands the pulse of the company," Yudhistira said. "With his educational background and past leadership posts, he understands electrical energy, which constitutes PLN’s core business."

Yudhistira underscored that internal cohesion and widespread staff support will be vital as the new leadership pushes forward operational reforms, improves service delivery across outer regions, and executes national targets outlined in the administration’s Asta Cita blueprint.

"With the trust placed in him, we are confident Suroso can carry out the President’s Asta Cita program to provide maximum electricity services throughout the archipelago and realize President Prabowo’s goals to fulfill the 100 GWp solar power target and achieve national energy resilience," Yudhistira said.