Powerhouse damaged, blackouts scheduled in West Sumatra

West Sumatra has been suffering scheduled power cuts after a 6.9-magnitude quake that hit the province earlier this month damaged one of two turbines at steam-powered Sijantang plant in Ombilin.

News portal tempointeraktif.com reported that as many as four power cuts, lasting two to three hours, occurred daily in the province.

Asep Irman, a spokesman of state electricity company PT PLN provincial branch, said Saturday that  the company was still repairing the damage and the work would last between one to three months.

Sijantang plant, with a total capacity of 200 megawatts, supplies around a third of electricity demand in West Sumatra and Riau. (dre)