FKBI: Power grid recovery response demonstrates PLN's primary focus

Tulus Abadi, Chairman of the Indonesian Empowered Consumers Forum (FKBI), stated that PLN’s swift response in restoring power outages across several regions in Sumatra demonstrates the company’s primary focus on quickly reinstating electricity services for the public. “Large-scale power system disruptions cannot be restored all at once, as it requires gradual balancing of the electricity system,” Tulus said in a statement on Monday in Jakarta. Previously, PLN explained that the power outage on Friday (22 May) was triggered by a fault in the 275 kV transmission network in Muara Bungo, Jambi. According to Tulus, the swift response from PLN’s management and field staff was crucial in accelerating the restoration of power supply in Sumatra. “The most important thing after the incident was for PLN’s management and field teams to immediately begin restoring the power infrastructure so the public could resume using electricity,” he said. He noted that large-scale power disruptions have widespread effects on public activities and services, making restoration a top priority. Currently, power supply in affected areas is gradually returning to normal. “In such situations, the priority is to ensure electricity services are restored gradually and safely for the public,” he added. Tulus emphasised that the incident should serve as a catalyst for collective efforts to enhance the reliability of the national power infrastructure, making the system more resilient against future disruptions. “The most critical task now is to ensure the power system becomes stronger and more reliable to minimise similar incidents,” he said. Meanwhile, PT PLN (Persero) confirmed that the Sumatra power grid, which experienced a total blackout on Friday (22 May), has now been fully restored. “Alhamdulillah, thanks to the relentless efforts of all field personnel and support from the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources and local authorities, the Sumatra power grid has now been restored,” said PLN’s President Director Darmawan Prasodjo. PLN completed the restoration of the Sumatra power grid following widespread transmission interconnection disruptions. By Sunday 06:00 WIB, the company had normalised 176 affected main substations, with power supply to customers gradually restored during the process.