SPKLU (Stasiun Pengisian Kendaraan Listrik Umum) is a public plug-in charging station for battery electric vehicles, while SPBKLU (Stasiun Penukaran Baterai Kendaraan Listrik Umum) is a public battery swap station where a depleted battery is exchanged for a charged one. Both fall under the same parent regulation, Permen ESDM No. 1 of 2023, but Indonesia’s 2025 KBLI update now treats them as two separate business classifications with different codes, different typical vehicle segments, and different investment profiles.<\/p>\n
Key Takeaways<\/p>\n
SPKLU and SPBKLU solve the same underlying problem, keeping electric vehicles powered, through two different mechanics. An SPKLU plugs directly into the vehicle’s battery and recharges it on site, a process that can take anywhere from thirty minutes to several hours depending on the charging technology. An SPBKLU skips the wait entirely: the rider or driver swaps a depleted battery pack for a pre-charged one, a process that typically takes a few minutes.<\/p>\n
Both facility types are governed by the same parent rule, Permen ESDM No. 1 of 2023 on the Provision of Charging Infrastructure for Battery-Based Electric Vehicles, which sets out technical standards, safety requirements, and location rules for both. What has changed is how the government classifies them as separate business activities under Indonesia’s licensing system, and that distinction now carries real consequences for anyone deciding where to put their capital.<\/p>\n
Also read:<\/strong> How to Legally Open an EV Charging Business in Indonesia<\/a><\/p>\n The KBLI code determines almost everything downstream: risk level, license type, and how OSS validates your company’s Articles of Association. Under KBLI 2025, issued through BPS Regulation No. 7 of 2025 and mandatory for new registrations from June 18, 2026, SPKLU and SPBKLU sit under two distinct five-digit codes rather than sharing one.<\/p>\n SPKLU operation now falls under KBLI 35133<\/strong>, described as the operation of charging facilities or stations for vehicles and electrical equipment. SPBKLU falls under KBLI 35132<\/strong>, classified as an electricity storage activity rather than a charging-service activity, which reflects the fact that a swap station’s core function is holding and cycling charged battery packs rather than delivering power directly to a parked vehicle.<\/p>\n This is a meaningful shift from the older framework. Most existing guidance, including a fair amount of what still ranks in search results, references KBLI 35114 under the retired KBLI 2020 system, which lumped SPKLU in with general electricity sales activity. If you registered before December 2025, that older code likely remains valid on your existing NIB, but any new filing after June 18, 2026 needs to use 35133 or 35132 depending on which model you are building. For a full walkthrough of how the KBLI transition works and what it means for existing PT PMAs, see InvestinAsia’s guide to KBLI codes<\/a>.<\/p>\n One detail worth flagging honestly: government sources confirm the SPKLU risk-level simplification that followed Government Regulation No. 28 of 2025, where the SPKLU electricity supply license was moved to a medium-low risk category with automatic OSS issuance. Public statements from ESDM’s electricity directorate have not, as far as this research could confirm, spelled out whether SPBKLU under its new storage classification (35132) received an identical risk-level treatment. Verify the current risk level for 35132 directly in the OSS portal before finalizing a business plan around it.<\/p>\n Both models sit inside the same PT PMA capital framework at the entity level. Under BKPM Regulation No. 5 of 2025, a PT PMA needs a total investment plan of at least IDR 10 billion per KBLI code per project location, with a minimum paid-up capital of IDR 2.5 billion deposited into the corporate account, subject to a 12-month lock-up. Since SPKLU and SPBKLU now sit under different KBLI codes, running both under one entity technically means two separate capital commitments rather than one shared threshold, unless one is structured as a supporting activity to the other.<\/p>\n Where the two models diverge is site-level cost. An SPKLU generally needs a larger footprint: dedicated parking for the duration of a charge, higher-capacity grid connection for fast or ultra-fast charging, and the hardware cost of the charging unit itself. An SPBKLU needs less land per unit since a swap takes minutes rather than an hour, but it carries its own capital load in the form of a battery inventory: the station has to hold enough charged packs on hand to serve demand without customers waiting for stock to cycle back.<\/p>\n Government Regulation No. 28 of 2025 also introduced a sector-specific adjustment for public EV charging stations, calculating the minimum investment threshold per province rather than per individual site. Whether that same per-province calculation extends to SPBKLU under its separate storage classification is not something this research could confirm from public sources. That is worth a direct confirmation with ESDM or a corporate advisor before you model a multi-site rollout, since the answer changes how far a given capital commitment stretches across a province.<\/p>\n Yes, in both cases, though the path runs through the same vehicle either way. A PT PMA is the only structure that lets a foreign shareholder hold equity directly in an Indonesian electricity infrastructure business, and electric vehicle infrastructure sits among the priority sectors treated as open by default under Indonesia’s Positive Investment List<\/a>, alongside renewable energy and EV manufacturing more broadly.<\/p>\n That said, ownership eligibility under Indonesian law is confirmed at the specific KBLI level, not the general industry label. Since SPKLU (35133) and SPBKLU (35132) are now formally separate codes, each one needs its own confirmation against the current Positive Investment List rather than assuming that one automatically clears the other. In practice, both have so far been treated as open sectors, but a code that is new to the classification system, as 35132 effectively is, warrants a direct check in the OSS portal rather than an assumption carried over from the older, broader electricity code.<\/p>\n Notes from InvestinAsia Consultants<\/p>\n Investors sometimes assume that because SPKLU and SPBKLU used to share a code, choosing one automatically clears the other for a future expansion. That assumption gets more expensive under KBLI 2025. A PT PMA set up under 35133 for a charging network cannot simply add battery swap operations later without registering 35132 as a second KBLI, which can trigger a fresh capital threshold and a deed amendment. Deciding early which model, or both, you actually plan to run saves a round trip to the notary later.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Not Sure Which EV Charging Model Fits Your Capital Plan?<\/p>\n Our team can map your KBLI code, ownership eligibility, and capital structure before you file anything.<\/p>\n Beyond the PT PMA’s own NIB and KBLI-based business license, both SPKLU and SPBKLU operators answer to ESDM’s Directorate General of Electricity directly, outside the standard OSS flow. Every station, regardless of type, needs its own station identity number, submitted in writing to the Directorate General along with the business scheme, facility details, and site address, under Article 10 of Permen ESDM 1\/2023. That identity number has to be displayed on-site once issued.<\/p>\n Every physical installation also needs a Sertifikat Laik Operasi (SLO), the safety certificate confirming the electrical installation meets Indonesian standards before it can legally switch on. For an SPKLU, the SLO inspection covers the charger’s load control, protection systems, and connector compatibility. For an SPBKLU, the equivalent technical gate covers the battery handling and charging infrastructure inside the station itself, since a swap facility is still, functionally, a battery charging operation running behind the counter rather than at the vehicle.<\/p>\n Following Government Regulation No. 28 of 2025, according to the Directorate General of Electricity’s own release on the reform, SPKLU’s electricity supply license no longer requires a separate Business Area Determination (Wilayah Usaha) or ratified electricity supply business plan (RUPTL), both of which used to sit ahead of the license in the older process. Both SPKLU and SPBKLU operators are also now required to report their activity data through ESDM’s Single Gateway application, a data integration requirement introduced as part of the same reform package.<\/p>\n In practice, the two models have settled into different corners of Indonesia’s EV market. SPKLU predominantly serves passenger electric vehicles, four-wheelers where a thirty-minute to multi-hour charge fits naturally into a shopping trip, a rest stop, or an overnight park. SPBKLU predominantly serves electric motorcycles and other two- and three-wheelers, where a rider cannot realistically wait an hour for a recharge between short urban trips and a swap takes a fraction of that time.<\/p>\n That split shows up in how PT PLN itself frames the two as separate franchise opportunities for private operators, SPKLU pitched toward car charging and SPBKLU toward motorcycle battery exchange. Given that motorcycles still represent the overwhelming majority of vehicles on Indonesian roads, an investor weighing where the larger near-term customer base sits should factor that segment split into the decision, not just the licensing difference.<\/p>\n There is no universally correct answer between SPKLU and SPBKLU. The right choice depends on which vehicle segment your site location naturally attracts, how much land and grid capacity you can commit, and whether you want the predictable, hardware-heavy economics of charging or the inventory-management economics of battery swapping.<\/p>\n A mall, office tower, or highway rest stop with car traffic and long dwell times generally favors SPKLU. A dense urban location with heavy motorcycle traffic and riders who cannot afford downtime favors SPBKLU. Some operators eventually run both, but as covered above, that means registering and capitalizing two separate KBLI codes rather than treating it as one expanded license.<\/p>\n Notes from InvestinAsia Consultants<\/p>\n A pattern our team sees with first-time energy investors in Indonesia: they choose the business model based on which one has more articles written about it, which today skews heavily toward SPKLU, rather than which one fits their actual site and customer base. Given Indonesia’s motorcycle fleet dwarfs its car fleet, SPBKLU deserves a harder look than the current volume of English-language guidance would suggest.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Ready to Structure Your EV Charging or Battery Swap Investment?<\/p>\n InvestinAsia handles KBLI classification, PT PMA registration, and ESDM licensing coordination from day one.<\/p>\nWhat KBLI Code Applies to Each Business Model?<\/h2>\n
Which Model Needs More Capital to Set Up?<\/h2>\n
Can Foreign Investors Own an SPKLU or SPBKLU Business?<\/h2>\n
What Licenses Does Each Model Need From ESDM?<\/h2>\n
Which Vehicle Segment Does Each Model Serve?<\/h2>\n
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\n \nFactor<\/th>\n SPKLU (Charging)<\/th>\n SPBKLU (Battery Swap)<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n \n KBLI 2025 code<\/td>\n 35133<\/td>\n 35132<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Typical vehicle segment<\/td>\n Cars, four-wheelers<\/td>\n Motorcycles, two\/three-wheelers<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Typical service time<\/td>\n 30 minutes to several hours<\/td>\n A few minutes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Site footprint<\/td>\n Larger, dedicated parking<\/td>\n Smaller, no long dwell time<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Main capital driver<\/td>\n Charging hardware, grid capacity<\/td>\n Battery inventory, swap equipment<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n Which Business Model Should You Choose?<\/h2>\n