Bahlil Moves Quickly to Address Power Cuts in Batam

BATAM — Coordinating Minister for Downstreaming and Energy Transition Bahlil Lahadalia said he would coordinate with state-owned electricity company PT PLN (Persero) over power outages in Batam, Riau Islands.

“I have a meeting with PLN after this,” Bahlil said on Monday, on the sidelines of a national working meeting of the Indonesian Indigenous Entrepreneurs Association (HPPI) in Jakarta.

Bahlil, who also serves as Energy and Mineral Resources Minister, said he would promptly check the condition of Batam’s electricity supply in coordination with PLN. “I’ll try to check with PLN, yes. I’ll look into it,” he said.

The outages began at around 6.30am, affecting areas including Batam Kota, Bengkong, Sagulung and Sekupang districts. At around noon, power was still out at the Batam Regional House of Representatives building and the Batam mayor’s office, which were using generators as an alternative source of energy.

At around 1pm, PLN Batam said it had begun restoring the electricity supply gradually, prioritising vital sites and public service facilities to ensure the public’s comfort.

“Restoration is being carried out gradually, with special attention given to electricity supplies for vital sites and public service facilities, such as airports, hospitals, ports and other strategic facilities,” PLN Batam Communications Manager Yoga Perdana Sulastama said when contacted in Batam on Monday.

Yoga said PLN Batam’s main priority was to restore the system first. “We don’t yet know the cause of the disruption. For now, we are prioritising system recovery and normalising electricity across the network. We will continue to provide updates,” he said.