Bobby Nasution Urges PLN North Sumatra to Provide Compensation for Residents Affected by Blackouts
The Governor of North Sumatra, Muhammad Bobby Afif Nasution, has requested that PT PLN take responsibility for the impact of rolling blackouts, which he believes have disadvantaged the public. He also noted that PLN’s communication to customers regarding the outages has not been maximised.
Bobby stated that residents in various regions have complained about the rolling blackouts occurring over the past few days. According to him, customers have not received clear information regarding the schedules or the specific areas affected, leaving them without time to make necessary preparations.
“The community is complaining, Sir; they are suffering losses due to these rolling blackouts, especially small entrepreneurs who rely on electricity. The problem is we do not know how the blackouts are progressing, the public is not clearly informed, so there is no preparation, and this is happening every day,” Bobby said in a written statement on Monday (8/6/2026).
These remarks were made during his visit to the PLN North Sumatra Load Dispatch Unit (UP2B Sumbagut) office in Medan. Bobby expressed that while the public can understand the emergency situation caused by the damage to dozens of electricity transmission towers due to extreme weather, such conditions should be accompanied by transparent and coordinated information sharing with local governments and the public.
“If there are obstacles like this, inform us (the government) so we can assist. Or PLN could inform regional heads (regents/mayors) so they are aware and can assist in socialising the information to the community. Do not continue to make excuses,” Bobby emphasised.
In light of these conditions, Bobby requested that PLN provide compensation to all affected customers in North Sumatra. This compensation does not necessarily have to be in cash but could take the form of electricity bill reductions or discounts on token purchases for prepaid customers, if possible under applicable regulations.
“Regarding the amount of compensation, we ask PLN to determine it. But clearly, our emphasis is that there must be compensation. Just as we face sanctions like disconnection or meter removal for even a slight delay in payment. We will wait two to three days for the repair process to conclude,” he said.
Meanwhile, the General Manager of PLN North Sumatra Distribution Unit (UID), Mundakhir Salman, apologised to Bobby and the people of North Sumatra for the service disruptions. He confirmed that PLN is currently accelerating repairs on 12 Extra High Voltage (SUTET) towers that were damaged.
Regarding the proposal for customer compensation, Mundakhir stated that his office would forward Bobby’s emphasis to the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM), as the authority to determine compensation lies with the central government. Nevertheless, PLN aims to complete the power grid repairs within the next two to three days so that the electricity supply can return to normal.