Power outage hits Riau as residents complain children cannot study ahead of exams

Power outages caused by disruptions were reported in several parts of Sumatra, including Riau, tonight. Children in Riau preparing for school exams were disrupted by the outages. The outage upset a parent in Pekanbaru who said their child could not study after the blackout around 18:50 WIB. The parent, Raja Hendra, expressed frustration: “Children have exams tomorrow and they cannot study.” He said he looked for alternatives with emergency lights and illumination from mobile phones, but resources were limited. Another resident, Abdul Hadi, said the outage in the Bina Widya area disrupted activities; it affected not only students but businesses too, which lacked genset. “Tomorrow is the last day; public elementary and junior high schools in Pekanbaru have exams. Not only students are affected; businesses are impacted because there is no generator,” Hadi said.