PLN promises to restore power in several Aceh regencies soon
PLN promises to restore power in several Aceh regencies soon
The Jakarta Post, Lhokseumawe, Aceh
State electricity company PT PLN expects to end the week-long
power outage in several regencies in the war-torn province of
Aceh early this week, saying it was close to completing repairs
on transmission towers that collapsed in alleged acts of sabotage
by Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebels.
Lhokseumawe PLN chief Sulaiman Daud said over the weekend that
about 50 percent of the repair work had been done, which was
sufficient to restore some power.
"We will run some tests and if they are successful, the
electricity will be back on after that," he said.
He earlier predicted that repairs would take about one month.
A power blackout has hit much of northern Aceh, covering the
regencies of North Aceh, Bireuen, Central Aceh and parts of
Pidie. According to Sulaiman, the repairs done so far could
enable power to be supplied to the regencies of North Aceh,
Bireuen and Pidie.
The blackout has added to the daily hardships of the local
people, who have had to cope with the ongoing war against GAM.
The military command in the North Aceh town of Lhokseumawe has
installed a large PLN generator for continued power supply while
the rest of the town remains in complete darkness.
PLN said the blackout was caused by the collapse of four
transmission towers that the Indonesian Military (TNI) blamed on
GAM.
The tower collapse occurred during the second week of one of
Indonesia's largest military operations to crush Acehnese
separatists. Sulaiman said that PLN's infrastructure was prone to
sabotage, especially to transmission towers spread across the
vast province.
The first alleged act of sabotage against PLN transmission
towers during the war was on May 21, three days after the
military operation began. A tower fell toward a palm tree, which
propped it up, allowing electricity to continue passing through
the line. Three more towers collapsed on June 5, which caused the
present widespread blackout. Sulaiman said a fifth tower
collapsed on June 10.
Sulaiman said there was no guarantee that the saboteurs would
not strike again once PLN repaired the towers.
He refused to disclose the exact date of the transmission
tests due to concerns that it might prompt saboteurs to try
again.
Asked whether he had asked for military protection for the
towers, he said the TNI would have to provide soldiers to protect
more than 1,000 transmission towers in the affected regencies.
The military is already protecting strategic facilities like
electricity transmission lines and gas assets, but lacks soldiers
to protect every tower.