Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia \u2014 The Directorate of Certain Crimes at the\nIndonesian National Police\u2019s Criminal Investigation Agency (Bareskrim\nPolri) has named five people as suspects in the widespread blackout in\nBatam and the Bintan Islands on Monday, 12 October 2026. The decision\nfollowed the collection of evidence and a case review into the power\ndisruption at Sei Harapan Substation in Batam City.<\/p>\n
Bareskrim\u2019s Director of Certain Crimes, Brigadier General Moh.\nIrhamni, confirmed that the suspects comprise four PLN Batam employees\nand one private contractor. The four PLN Batam employees are identified\nby the initials RB, ZR, DA and AWD, while the contractor is identified\nas AEP. He said the designation was based on evidence and suspected\nnegligence in upholding electricity safety.<\/p>\n
\u201cFollowing the investigation and the sufficiency of the evidence, and\nafter the case review, investigators have named five people as suspects\nin this case,\u201d Irhamni said in a Bareskrim Polri press release on\nTuesday, 20 October 2026.<\/p>\n
The investigation was formally upgraded under Police Report\nNo.\u00a0LP\/A\/121\/X\/2026\/SPKT.DITTIPIDTER\/BARESKRIM POLRI, dated 16 October\n2026. The widespread outage caused losses, with estimated customer\ncompensation totalling Rp57,315,057,160.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe suspects were named on the basis of examinations and evidence\nobtained by investigators, not solely because of a person\u2019s position or\nstatus,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
As part of the investigation, Bareskrim investigators questioned 25\nwitnesses and consulted criminal-law and forensic laboratory experts.\nThey also seized technical evidence, including CCTV DVR equipment from\nSei Harapan Substation, three 50-centimetre sections of R, S and T phase\nconductors, three pairs of 20 kVA busbar plates, three sections of\nBuchholz pipe, and one tripping lockout relay set.<\/p>\n
\u201cBased on the facts established in the investigation, the application\nof Article 319 of the Criminal Code has an adequate evidentiary basis\nand is sufficiently strong to be maintained as a suspected criminal\noffence under investigation,\u201d Irhamni said.<\/p>\n
The suspects have been charged under Article 319 of Law No.\u00a01 of 2023\non the Criminal Code and Article 51 in conjunction with Article 44 of\nthe Electricity Law. The offences carry a maximum prison sentence of 12\nyears.<\/p>\n
Investigators identified three main indications of unlawful conduct:\nphysical damage to Transformer 1, an actual disruption to the public\nelectricity supply, and an alleged failure to act after\nwildlife-protection facilities were deactivated and not restored.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe focus of the evidentiary process includes the alleged failure to\nfulfil electricity safety obligations, its connection to the disruption\nat the installation, and the resulting interruption to power supplies\nand impact on the public,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
PLN Batam President Director Kwin Fo previously said the outage began\nwith a flashover at a transformer at Sei Harapan Substation. The circuit\nbreaker (CB), which should have isolated the fault, failed to open as\nintended, allowing the disruption to spread to the main 150-kilovolt\n(kV) transmission system.<\/p>\n
\u201cBased on the technical investigation, the disruption began with a\nflashover at a transformer at Sei Harapan Substation. The circuit\nbreaker (CB), which should have isolated the fault, failed to open as\nintended, allowing the disruption to spread to the main 150-kilovolt\n(kV) transmission system,\u201d he said, according to a company statement on\nMonday, 19 October 2026.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe disruption caused a power plant in Tanjung Uncang, with capacity\nof around 220 megawatts (MW), to disconnect from the system. The loss of\na large amount of supply caused other power plants to experience load\nimbalances and disconnect as well, leading to a widespread blackout at\n06:37 Western Indonesian Time (WIB),\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n
Kwin said PLN Batam promptly inspected and isolated the fault, then\ngradually rebuilt the electricity system. By 22:00 on Monday, around 60%\nof customers in Batam had had their electricity restored.<\/p>\n
By 01:00 on Tuesday, 13 October 2026, power had returned to almost\nall customers in Batam, although work to restore several generating\nunits continued.<\/p>\n
Electricity supply to Bintan was fully restored at 18:30 on\nWednesday, 14 October 2026. Power transfers via undersea cables were\ncarried out gradually once Batam\u2019s system was stable and had sufficient\nreserve capacity.<\/p>\n
\u201cRestoration to Bintan was based purely on technical considerations,\nnot on different service priorities. We had to ensure that Batam\u2019s\nsystem was sufficiently stable before transferring power to avoid\ntriggering another widespread disruption,\u201d Kwin Fo said.<\/p>\n
He acknowledged that the explanation could only be provided after PLN\nBatam teams had spent three days prioritising the restoration of the\nelectricity system to ensure that supplies to the public could return to\nnormal.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe offer our sincerest apologies to all customers and members of the\npublic. From the outset, all PLN Batam teams worked day and night,\nfocusing primarily on restoring the Batam-Bintan electricity system,\u201d\nKwin Fo said.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/bareskrim-names-five-suspects-in-batam-power-outage-case-1792500676", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }