An inferno caused by a short circuit, which claimed four lives in Tebet, South Jakarta, on Tuesday, has led the city administration to call on state electricity firm PLN to give greater consideration to safety when installing power lines and wiring homes.
Deputy Governor Prijanto called PLN “too lenient” on Wednesday, urging the company to implement stricter guidelines for the installation of power lines, which he said it does even on premises that do not comply with building regulations.
“We sent a letter to the company some time ago, but it has yet to offer any solution,” Prijanto said at City Hall.
“The company should prioritize safety instead of profit and not approve all requests to install lines,” he said.
Numerous recent fires in the city have been caused by short circuits, raising concerns over the safety of construction.
On Tuesday, two separate fires in Tambora, West Jakarta, and in Pluit, North Jakarta, are believed to have been caused by short circuits.
The fire in Pluit razed 200 shacks located alongside the toll road to Soekarno Hatta International Airport, while the one in Tambora razed a house located on Jl. Pengukiran.
Data from the Jakarta Fire Agency shows there have been 406 fires in the city so far this year, causing some Rp 132.5 billion in losses and claiming at least 27 lives. The agency considers 65 of the city’s subdistricts prone to fire.
Deputy manager for communi-cation at PLN’s Jakarta and Tangerang branch, Sampurno Marnoto, denied the company valued profit over safety.
“When we assess new customers or those requesting additional power, they must pass our safety check, if they don’t, we will not install the lines,” he said, adding that cables used in the installation should meet Indonesian National Standards.
He said that residents who used the wrong cables or plugs in their home, or used their outlets excessively, without considering their capacity, were to blame for most of the fires.
