A power outage affecting several areas of Surabaya, East Java, from\nThursday (18\/6) to Friday (19\/6) triggered traffic chaos across the\ncity, with traffic lights failing and automatic railway crossing\nbarriers becoming inoperative. Two railway crossings in Surabaya, JPL 1\nMayangkara and JPL 17 Jagir, were rendered non-functional due to the\ndisruption in PLN\u2019s electricity supply on Thursday. Mahendro Trang\nBawono, Public Relations Manager of KAI Daop 8 Surabaya, stated that the\ncompany immediately took anticipatory measures once the automatic\nbarrier system failed. \u2018KAI Daop 8 Surabaya has anticipated this\ncondition by deploying additional security personnel at the locations\nand manually installing STOP signs. We urge all road users to remain\ncautious, vigilant, and to prioritise train travel whether the crossing\nbarriers are functioning or not,\u2019 Mahendro said on Friday (19\/6).\nSecurity officers were stationed at both crossings to manually direct\ntraffic and ensure the safety of road users as trains passed. Mahendro\nconfirmed that the electricity supply has since returned to normal and\nthe barrier system is operational again.<\/p>\n
The impact of the blackout extended to Surabaya\u2019s traffic light\nnetwork. On Friday, seven intersections experienced simultaneous signal\nfailures. Abi Dwi Septianto, an officer from the Surabaya Transportation\nAgency\u2019s Road Equipment Provision division, admitted that the situation\noverwhelmed his team. The seven affected intersections were ID 126\nBalongsari - Tandes, ID 15 Pucang Anom - Pucang Anom Timur, ID 6\nDiponegoro - Kartini, ID 11 Bubutan - Tembaan, ID 46 MERR - Kampus C, ID\n124 Menganti - Driyorejo, and ID 125 Lakarsantri - Made. \u2018We could only\ndeploy generators to three locations due to limited personnel and\nequipment. The simultaneous blackout left us overwhelmed,\u2019 Abi said. He\nadded that his department had actually received prior notification from\nPLN about potential disruptions, but PLN did not specify which areas\nwould be affected. \u2018Only PLN North Surabaya contacted us. There was no\ncertainty from PLN regarding the duration of the disruption,\u2019 he\nstated.<\/p>\n
Residents also felt the impact of the dead traffic lights. The\nintersection of Jalan Kenjeran, connecting Jalan Putro Agung and Jalan\nKedung Cowek, was one of the worst-hit points and was widely discussed\non social media on Thursday. Ali Topan, a resident of Bulak Rukem, Bulak\nDistrict, who was caught in the congestion, recounted his experience.\nFrom 14:00 WIB, vehicle queues were already snaking along Jalan Kedung\nCowek. \u2018I thought the jam was due to normal traffic flow, but after\nchecking, I realised the traffic light was dead. This caused chaotic\ntraffic flow, from Jalan Kedung Cowek to Jalan Kenjeran,\u2019 Ali said. The\ncongestion was still ongoing when Ali attempted to return home at 17:10\nWIB. A journey that normally takes only 10 minutes turned into nearly an\nhour. \u2018I left my parents\u2019 house at 17:10 WIB, and conditions from the\nSuramadu Bridge towards Surabaya were totally gridlocked. Besides the\ndead traffic light, there was also a broken-down truck,\u2019 he\nexplained.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Dana Puspita Sari, Communication and TJSL Manager of PLN\nEast Java Distribution Unit, stated that the company is still\nimplementing load management. Dozens of residential and urban areas in\nSurabaya, Sidoarjo, and Gresik have been hit by rolling blackouts in\nrecent days, including on Friday. PLN indicated the disruption was\ntriggered by technical constraints at a power plant, causing a drop in\nelectricity supply capacity to these regions. At least 19 locations were\naffected today. In Surabaya, blackouts hit Simo Kwagean, Kebraon, Kuwon,\nand Dukuh Kupang. In Sidoarjo, the Pepelegi Indah and Sekardangan areas\nwere affected, while in Gresik, Kota Baru Driyorejo and Kartini were\nimpacted. Dana confirmed the disruption in an official statement. \u2018PLN\nis currently mobilising all resources to maintain the reliability of the\nelectricity system following operational technical constraints at the\npower plant which caused a decrease in electricity supply capacity,\u2019\nDana said. In response, PLN has implemented a load management scheme to\nprevent wider impacts, describing it as an effort to maintain overall\nsystem stability. \u2018To maintain the stability and reliability of the\nelectricity system, PLN is carrying out limited load management in\nseveral affected areas and continues to strive for the acceleration of\nthe recovery of plant operating conditions so that electricity supply\ncan return to normal,\u2019 Dana stated. PLN has not yet detailed which plant\nexperienced the disruption or provided a concrete recovery timeline.\nDana only mentioned that the handling process is ongoing and involves\ncross-party coordination.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/surabaya-blackout-triggers-traffic-chaos-and-railway-gate-failures-1781877170", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }