Deputy Energy Minister Attributes Sumatra Blackout to Lightning Strike

Deputy Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Yuliot Tanjung stated that the total power outage on Sumatra was caused by transmission lines being struck by lightning. ‘Regarding the electricity incident in Sumatra, the transmission lines were struck by lightning in Merangin,’ Tanjung said at the Senayan Parliamentary Complex in Jakarta on Monday, 25 May 2026. Furthermore, most transmission to North Sumatra is sourced from South Sumatra, which caused the entire island’s blackout. ‘Looking at the incident itself, technically, the power supply for northern Sumatra largely comes from the south. When the strike occurred, the entire system went down, resulting in a blackout,’ he explained. Regarding the duration of the outage, he explained that PLN faced challenges restoring the grid, as systems had to be restarted sequentially. ‘The restoration process begins with hydroelectric plants, followed by geothermal, then diesel and gas plants. Technically, coal-fired plants require approximately 12 hours to restart, which is what we did,’ he added. ‘The Energy Ministry deployed a team to the field, and thanks to coordination with PLN, full restoration was achieved within the expected timeframe,’ Tanjung said.