PLN called 'infidel' due to blackouts during breaking of fast

A branch of state-owned electricity company PT PLN in Pamekasan, East Java, has been branded an “infidel” by locals irate over frequent blackouts, especially those occurring during evening prayers when it is time to break the fast.

“We have received a lot of complaints and PLN has even been called an infidel because it [power cuts] happen during tarawih (prayer to break the fast),” PT PLN Madura manager Bintoro Suryo Sudibyo said on Friday.

He added that the blackouts did not happen due to a drop in electricity, but due to kites becoming entangled around power cables and poles.

“The entangled kites are causing short circuits,” he said as reported by tribunnews.com.

He further said that the company had informed mosques about the situation with kites.

“The dry season is a time to fly kites. We ask that kites be flown in fields so they won’t interfere with PLN cables,” he said, adding that there had been 75 occasions in June in which kites had caused problems with PLN cables.

“There have been 19 cases involving kites during Ramadhan,” he said.