M

em>March 1, p. 9

Almost all of Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), was in the dark on Wednesday night after heavy rains and strong winds led to power grid failures, an official has said.

Blackouts began after a circuit breaker at the Ampenan diesel power station in Mataram, West Lombok, was struck by lightning at around 8 p.m.

Your comments:

This isn’t news. Three hours or more of power outage happens at least once a week — and it’s been that way ever since Lombok got electricity.

Poor maintenance and an incomplete power grid are part of the cause. Look at all the electricity cables with branches growing all around them. Wind blows, cables break, lights out.

If there is some good news, it is that power outages are considerably fewer and shorter than they were 10 years ago. Back then, power outages lasted for three days!

Ben S.