<![CDATA[PT PLN (Persero) faces increasing pressure to expand and modernize electricity infrastructure while maintaining financial resilience, operational reliability, and technological adaptability. This study examines the strategic implications of selectively transforming infrastructure investment from capital expenditure (CAPEX)-based ownership toward operational expenditure (OPEX)-oriented arrangements. The study employed an integrated analytical design, combining documentary analysis, global benchmarking, financial scenario simulation, cost–benefit analysis, and regulatory assessment. The simulation assumes total investment requirements of Rp2,780 trillion for 2025–2034, a 2024 CAPEX baseline of Rp63.45 trillion, and the transfer of 70% of generation investment to Independent Power Producers while 30% of generation and 100% of transmission and distribution remain under PLN CAPEX. The results show a clear trade-off. Interest-bearing debt decreases by 6.75%, and the Debt Service Coverage Ratio increases by 3.8%, while OPEX rises by 24.88%, EBITDA declines by 36.99%, operating income by 7.63%, net income by 9.93%, ROA by 7.0%, and leverage increases by 48.1%. The cost–benefit analysis further shows that OPEX generates higher estimated ten-year benefits of Rp1,598.62 trillion than CAPEX at Rp726.45 trillion, whereas CAPEX produces a higher benefit–cost ratio of 17.01 than OPEX at 8.83. These findings indicate that OPEX should not be treated as a universal substitute for CAPEX. Instead, the optimal configuration is a selective portfolio in which OPEX or hybrid arrangements are applied to technologically dynamic and contractible assets, while strategically critical and long-lived infrastructure remains under direct ownership. The study contributes a contingent asset-governance perspective that integrates asset characteristics, financial consequences, risk allocation, and governance requirements in infrastructure investment decisions.]]>
