PLN confirms Sumatra power outage caused by bad weather
“The disruption to the transmission line had a widespread impact on parts of the Sumatran transmission system, resulting in a drop in frequency due to the heavy load on power plants and triggering a domino effect of disruptions in several areas,” PLN President Director Darmawan Prasodjo explained in a statement on Saturday.
Since the disruption began, his office had immediately moved to inspect and restore the electricity system.
Within approximately two hours, the disrupted transmission network was successfully restored.
After restoring the transmission network, PLN also focused on restarting the affected power plants and synchronizing them with the restored transmission system.
Prasodjo conveyed that the power plant restart process was carried out systematically and in stages, while prioritizing system safety.
He added that hydro- and gas-based power plants can immediately help supply the system as a rapid response to expedite initial recovery.
“Meanwhile, thermal power plants such as coal-fired power plants (PLTU) take longer, between 15 and 20 hours from start-up, synchronization, and full operation,” he continued.
Restoration efforts were carried out simultaneously across transmission lines, substations, and power plants within the Sumatran electricity system.
To accelerate the process, PLN deployed hundreds of personnel in affected areas spanning Jambi, West Sumatra, Riau, North Sumatra, and Aceh.
Meanwhile, the national railway operator, PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI) Regional Division I North Sumatra ensures that all train operations in the North Sumatra region continue to run safely and normally, following the power outage.
As an anticipatory measure against emergencies and considering the critical need for electricity, PT KAI has prepared a backup power generation system.
This facility serves to supply power to communication equipment, signaling systems, and to meet direct service needs for customers in the station area.
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Translator: Putu Indah S, Resinta Sulistiyandari