Generators rented for Madura

SURABAYA: The state electricity company PLN has been forced to rent generators with a total capacity of 40 megawatts (MW) for Madura which has been without electricity since Friday due to damage to an undersea cable, Antara said.

"This is PLN's short-term effort to provide the island with electricity while awaiting the repair of the cable which was hit by the anchor of the Singaporean motor vessel, Kota Indah," East Java Governor Imam Utomo said following a meeting between representatives of PLN and MV Kota Indah here Tuesday.

Utomo said the generators, which are being rented from private companies, will come in stages. He called on residents to be patient.

The local administration, he said, has been providing at least 40,000 liters of clean water every day to the districts of Bangkalan, Sampang, Pamekasan and Sumenep.

The state oil company, Pertamina, has also been supplying more than 270,000 liters of kerosene every day, he added.

Head of the provincial office of PLN, Hisban Achmad, said the company has rented 14 generators for some public facilities, including hospitals, the telecommunications office, and the municipal waterworks office.

Meanwhile, spokesman of the local Pertamina office, Tata Pandaya, said there are enough stocks of kerosene for the island.

"I hope the people on the island do not get nervous, because Pertamina has enough stocks of kerosene for them. We have increased the stocks by almost 50 percent over regular supplies," he added.