Poor management and negligence were the main causes behind the recent explosion at Cawang Baru electricity substation in Cililitan, East Jakarta, experts say.
Tulus Abadi of the Indonesian Consumers Foundation said the fire was not just an accident but a result of the substation carrying more power than its capacity since September.
Tulus said he received reports from several workers of the state electricity operator PLN just a few hours after the incident.
"The staff of Cawang Baru reported the situation to PLN's central office only after Sept. 27, and the substation was due to be shut down," he told The Jakarta Post on Friday.
"But a fire gutted the substation before PLN could shut it down," Tulus said.
Tulus said he had reported the allegations to the director general for electricity and energy utilization at the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry. He also sent a report of the allegation to PLN's board of directors.
Cawang Baru electricity substation exploded on Sept. 29 after fire razed two output transformers. The fire began at 1.30 p.m. and was extinguished within half an hour. The explosion also caused traffic havoc in nearby areas.
The police are still investigating the cause of the fire at the Cawang substation.
Because the Cawang substation distributes power for Java and Bali islands, the explosion caused power shortages in several areas in Jakarta. These blackouts are expected to continue at least until the end of the year.
PLN has tried to substitute for the shortage by purchasing 100 megawatts of electricity from PT Cikarang Listrikindo and redirecting power from Tanjung Priok and Muara Karang substations in North Jakarta.
Yayat Supriatna, an urban planner from Trisakti University, said PLN managed its facilities poorly.
"Many PLN units are built without following the rules. Many electricity transmission towers and electricity poles violate its standards in Jakarta," Yayat said.
PLN's underground cables are often damaged by workers, causing blackouts, he said, adding that the company must coordinate with local administrations better.
"Many PLN units were built by violating local administration regulations. The local administrations were also allowed to put buildings in areas that violate PLN standards," he said.
Yayat also said that PLN substations must be scrutinized.
"Was the equipment there really up to standards? Did the fire-suppression system really work? These are important questions," Yayat said.
Previously, PLN had said the fire was caused by a technical fault in which a certain gas failed to isolate a high-voltage wire in a tube. The police are still investigating the cause of the fire at the Cawang substation.
Two days before the fire at Cawang Baru, the Kembangan substation was also gutted by a fire.
PLN Greater Jakarta division general manager Purnomo Willy said his company had done its best to prevent the fires at Cawang Baru.
"PLN has a great automatic fire-suppression system which meets international standards, but even the best system can fail," he said.
The operator's electricity installation standard states that each substation must have safety equipment including alarm systems, temperature measurement tools and sprinklers.
Under the automatic fire suppression system, the electronic devices at PLN stations automatically shut down if there is a fire nearby.
To prevent a repeat of the accidents, PLN will improve its maintenance program, Purnomo said, adding that he would also make sure police guard PLN units 24-hours-a-day.
"The security systems at Kembangan and Cawang Baru substations are even tighter because they are categorized as national objects of vital importance that must be protected," Purnomo said.
Irwan Utama, a member of the Indonesian Association of Electricity Contractors, agreed with Purnomo.
"From what I learned, PLN has a multi-layered security and protection system. But accidents like the fire can happened even with such a good system," he said. (mrs)
