Traffic gridlock in Pekanbaru as power outage hits, police deploy traffic control

Pekanbaru, Riau — A widespread electricity outage hit Pekanbaru City in Riau Province tonight. As a result several traffic lights were out, causing traffic congestion. Kombes Jeki Rahmat Mustika, Director of Traffic for the Riau Regional Police, said the blackout across Pekanbaru began at 18:45 WIB and by 20:56 WIB power remained off. There is a power cut across Sumatra, so the traffic lights were out tonight, Jeki told reporters on Friday (22 May 2026). He added that the situation had caused traffic to be congested at several points in Pekanbaru. The force had deployed 156 personnel to regulate traffic. ‘Under the instruction of the Police Chief, we have deployed personnel to regulate traffic and anticipate crime,’ he said. PLN (Persero) said there was a total outage in central and northern Sumatra due to a system disturbance, leaving the night dark. The Manager of Communications for the Riau and Kepulauan Riau Distribution Unit, I Komang Gede Sastrawan, said they were currently inspecting the system disturbance affecting Riau and surrounding areas since 18:44 WIB. ‘My apologies for the inconvenience. Preliminary information at 18:44 WIB indicates that Northern Sumatra–Central Sumatra is separated and Northern Sumatra is completely out. The load shedding is still being recorded,’ Sastrawan told Antara on Friday (22 May).