ESDM launches investigation into Sumatra blackout cause

JAKARTA — The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources has deployed an electricity inspection team to investigate the cause of power system disruptions in Sumatra. Power supply was fully restored by Sunday (24 May 2026) at approximately 5:00 AM WIB. Yuliot, Deputy Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, stated that the ministry, along with the State Secretariat and PLN (state electricity company), has been coordinating closely since the outage began to monitor developments. “As the regulator and overseer of the electricity subsector, the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources is taking this blackout incident very seriously,” he said in a written statement on Monday (25 May 2026). “We understand the disruption has caused inconvenience to the public and impacted economic and social activities in affected areas,” Yuliot added. The investigation aims to determine the root cause of the outage, with findings used to prepare mitigation measures to prevent recurrence. Tri Winarno, Acting Director General of Electricity, said the government deployed an inspection team to the field immediately after the widespread outage. “In the initial phase post-outage, we deployed an inspection team to the field and will strengthen it for more intensive investigation to ensure such incidents do not recur,” Tri said. These measures aim to ensure a reliable and safe power supply for the public. Tri stated that Energy Minister Bahlil Lahadalia has directed PLN to strengthen the backbone of Sumatra’s power grid system through the construction of power plants and 500 kilovolt and 275 kilovolt transmission networks.