Strategic Communication Governance at PLN: Integrating Stakeholders, Public Information Disclosure, and Sustainability (PLN Strategic Communication Governance: Stakeholder Integration, Information Transparency, and Sustainability)

Abstract

Energy state-owned enterprises operate at the intersection of commercial objectives, public-service obligations, government policy, and sustainability transitions. This study examines how PT PLN (Persero), Indonesia's state-owned electricity company, institutionalizes strategic communication governance by integrating stakeholder management, public information disclosure, and sustainability. A qualitative document analysis was conducted on four formal corporate instruments issued between 2024 and 2025: the strategic policy on corporate communication and social and environmental responsibility, the operational procedure for corporate communication, the procedure for public information management and services, and the decision establishing the Public Information List. The 2025-2034 Electricity Supply Business Plan was used as a contextual document. Directed qualitative content analysis applied six categories: strategic alignment and authority, stakeholder governance, disclosure and accountability, sustainability integration, issue and crisis communication, and monitoring and organizational learning. The findings reveal a highly formalized, multi-level governance architecture linking corporate headquarters, regional units, communication functions, social responsibility functions, and public information officers. The disclosure system is procedurally robust, with information classification, annual updating, consequence testing, digital documentation, request handling, objections, and dispute resolution. However, stakeholder engagement remains stronger in information and response modes than in sustained stakeholder involvement. Sustainability is integrated at the policy level, yet its operational connection to transition impacts, energy justice, and stakeholder influence on decisions remains limited. Monitoring is mandated, but outcome-oriented indicators of trust, inclusion, and decision influence are not specified. The study proposes an Integrated Strategic Communication Governance Model for Energy SOEs that connects mandate, stakeholder intelligence, engagement, disclosure, sustainability, crisis resilience, and learning.