SCBD Jakarta Residents Surprised as Area Suddenly Goes Dark During Earth Day Lights-Out: Not the Usual

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - The Sudirman Central Business District (SCBD) on Jalan Jenderal Sudirman was one of the areas affected by the simultaneous lights-out organised by the DKI Jakarta Provincial Government on Saturday night (25/4/2026) for Earth Day.

The blackout made the area, usually filled with light from tall buildings, appear dimmer than usual.

Several residents in the vicinity admitted to being startled by the sight.

Anang (30), a trader near the entrance to the Istora Mandiri MRT station, said he had only just learned about the lights-out event.

“It seems like this is new, that’s why it’s not usual to see the buildings suddenly go dark,” Anang told Kompas.com at the location on Saturday.

“From earlier, I just found out about Earth Day. I thought something had happened, because it’s never dark here,” he said.

Ghiffari (24), who was also in the SCBD area, expressed similar sentiments. He admitted to being shocked to see the building lights and street lights on Jalan Sudirman turned off.

“I actually knew about Earth Day, but because it’s not usual. It’s actually strange because it’s a protocol road. SCBD is usually bright,” he said.

According to him, energy-saving efforts like this need to be designed with a more sustainable approach so that the impact is more felt.

“In my opinion, there should be a more certain and sustainable way if we want to do energy saving,” he said.

He assessed the action as a good step to increase awareness of energy saving.

“I knew about Earth Hour from school. But this is the first time I’ve seen its implementation in SCBD,” said Fani.

According to her, activities like this could be done more routinely so that the public becomes more accustomed to energy-saving efforts.