Sari, a private company employee, could not hide her disappointment with state electricity power company PT PLN last week.
Her plan to send a report from her office the next morning after working overtime the night before was turned into a slapdash search for Internet cafes, when she found her office without power due to a scheduled blackout.
It took her three hours to find a functioning Internet cafe, since most had experienced similar problems.
"I think the shop used an electricity generator," she told The Jakarta Post. "I was very glad I was able to send the report."
Sari said her misfortune that day began the night before.
"My office's IT department informed me there was a problem with the Internet connection due to a spate of blackouts.
"The report I tried to send the night before couldn't reach my boss's email account," Sari said.
Cawang Baru electricity substation in Cililitan, East Jakarta, caught fire on Sept. 29, causing power shortages around the city.
Homes and offices have since experienced scheduled blackouts, disrupting their daily activities.
For Tahi Nabadia, a motorcyclist, the blackouts were a nuisance. He said he was stuck in gridlock in Cipinang, East Jakarta, for half an hour because traffic lights were not working.
"Traffic went into chaos, and there was no police officer to control it," he said
Tahi, who is currently between jobs, faced more challenges when he was looking for job vacancies on the Internet.
"The power switched off before I could save the details of the vacancies to my computer," he said.
For Ratna Sjamsiar Idris, a communications director at a five-star hotel, blackouts challenge the hotel management's ability to provide their guests with a good service.
"Our hotel has a generator, which can provide enough power during scheduled blackouts," she said.
"However, there is a 30-second blackout before the generator begins working."
Ratna said her staff need to inform the guests about blackouts each time so they postpone their activities.
Anna, who manages a multi-purpose building, said scheduled blackouts meant she had to prepare more. She had to find out when the scheduled blackouts would occur so her building, which didn't have a generator, could still function.
Blackouts can still cost her company more money. The building she manages is usually booked for events a year in advance.
"If there is a blackout during an event, the building management must pay more to operate the generator. We must also pay compensation to our clients because the generator is unable to provide power to electronic devices," she said.
Andre Marbun, a groom-to-be, was worried about spending his once-in-a-lifetime event in darkness.
"They told me there would be none *blackouts*. If there is, that's just my fate." (mrs)
