Pushep Urges Public to Respect Legal Process in Sumatra Blackout Case

The public has been urged to respect the legal process concerning the cause of the electricity blackout in Sumatra. “The public should respect and monitor the ongoing legal process,” said legal observer Bisman Bachtiar from the Centre for Law and Policy Studies (Pushep) to the media in Jakarta on Friday (10/7/2026).

He noted that criminal cases involve a lengthy process, which must go through investigation, prosecution, and trial. “Issues and speculation that are not supported by facts can actually be misleading,” said Bisman, who also serves as Dean of the Faculty of Law at Uhamka.

According to Bisman, a criminal case must go through the stages of investigation, prosecution, and trial, so a legal conclusion cannot be built solely on suspicion or opinions circulating in the public domain. He assessed that the alleged irregularities in coal procurement cannot be immediately concluded as the main cause of the Sumatra blackout.

He explained that large-scale electricity disruptions can be triggered by various technical factors, ranging from transmission network faults and power plant issues to extreme weather. This view, Bisman said, aligns with the official explanation from law enforcement officials, who stated that the Sumatra electricity system disruption was triggered by a system trip, making the blackout more related to technical and operational aspects.

Therefore, he said, the link between the alleged criminal act and the occurrence of the blackout must still be proven through a legal process and a comprehensive investigation. “In law, the causal relationship must be proven through technical investigation and supporting evidence. So, the coal procurement is not necessarily the main cause of the Sumatra blackout,” he stated.