Four months to go before Madura sees light

NUSA DUA, Bali (JP): Minister of Mines and Energy Kuntoro Mangkusubroto said on Thursday it would take the government up to four months to repair the damaged underwater main power cable, which had left Madura without electricity since last Friday.

Speaking to journalists after attending the ninth ministerial council meeting of the Australia-Indonesia Joint Authority for the Timor Gap Zone of Cooperation, Kuntoro said it would take that long to bring in new facilities.

Madura in East Java needs a total of 73 megawatts (MW) of electricity. Generators are currently producing 3 MW only.

"We are now trying to bring diesel-activated electricity generators from Surabaya and Jakarta to Madura.

"If we can obtain them, we expect to provide up to 13 MW for Madura. Of course that amount would not be enough to light up all of Madura. So, we will only provide electricity for vital facilities such as hospitals."

"To bring all these diesel-activated generators from Surabaya and Jakarta will take at least one month. It will be four months before PLN (the state-owned electricity company), will finish repairing the broken facilities or build new ones to bring in the required 73 MW," he said.

When asked about estimated costs for either the repair or the purchase of new facilities, Kuntoro replied: "We are not at that stage yet.

"What's important now is that the electricity comes first; as for the money, we'll calculate costs later."

Madura has a population of 3 million. The underwater 150,000 volt-cable was severely damaged after the Singapore vessel, Kota Indah dropped its anchor on the cable last Friday. (rid)