PLN imposes rotating blackouts again

MAKASSAR, South Sulawesi: The South, West and Southeast Sulawesi regional office of the PLN state power company resumed rotating blackouts over the past week.

In Makassar, the power outages take place twice a day at a duration of 30 minutes. Outside the city, it lasts longer.

The PLN regional office previously imposed rotating blackouts from September to December last year, claiming the water volume at the Bakaru PLTA hydro power station had drastically receded due to drought.

However, since the rainy season at the end of December last year, PLN's power supply returned to normal following the rise in water levels at the Bakaru PLTA. The rotating blackouts ceased but have resumed in the past week.

PLN regional office manager Muhammad Yamin Loleh confirmed the rotating blackouts were due to a power deficit of between 90 and 98 megawatts. "Three of our power generators are broken." - JP