DPR Member Urges PLN to Evaluate Sumatra Power Grid After Widespread Outages

Jakarta, VIVA – Yulisman, a member of Commission XII of the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR RI), urged PLN to take full responsibility for the mass electricity blackouts that affected several areas in Sumatra. He said the incident had disrupted community activities, public services, and economic activities across the region.

Yulisman called on PLN to move quickly to ensure electricity returns to normal across the board, and to explain to the public the main causes of the disruption.

‘We are asking PLN to take full responsibility for this incident, both in accelerating electricity restoration and in evaluating measures to prevent similar events from recurring. The public obviously needs certainty and stable electricity services,’ Yulisman said on Saturday, 23 May 2026.

He argued that this large-scale blackout should be a serious subject of evaluation for PLN, particularly regarding the condition of the main interregional electricity transmission network in Sumatra, which plays a crucial role in keeping supply stable.

According to Yulisman, the issue should be viewed proportionally as a technical fault in the system of networks and power distribution, which is PLN’s operational responsibility as the manager of the national electricity system.

‘Overall energy supply and generation capacity in Sumatra remain adequate so far. Therefore, an evaluation of the reliability of the electricity network and the protection system should be a primary concern to ensure similar incidents do not recur,’ he said.

Yulisman also called on PLN to strengthen the security and redundancy of the electricity system, including readiness to respond quickly when a major disturbance occurs on the grid.

He stressed that electricity reliability is very important because Sumatra is currently a major centre of national economic growth, spanning the industrial sector, plantations, oil and gas, and the downstreaming of natural resources that heavily depends on a stable electricity supply.

‘We hope PLN can promptly complete the restoration of electricity across all affected areas and use this incident as an evaluation to strengthen the national electrical system going forward,’ he added.