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undreds of residents in Sei Rampah, Serdang regency, North Sumatra, staged a demonstration in front of state electricity company PT PLN's office, in protest at the continuous blackouts which have been ongoing over the lastfew months. The residents threatened to get violent if the company failed to resolve the problem.

'This cannot be tolerated anymore. Do we have to stage violent protests to make PLN fix the problem?,' Hendra, a resident, asked.

The blackouts also triggered public anger in Tebing Tinggi city and Binjai in Langkat regency. Residents vandalized PLN offices and facilities onThursday in the two regions.

Raidir Sigalingging of North Sumatra PLN said that his office called on the residents not to stage violent protests as it would not solve the power-deficit problem, which he said  was the main cause of the blackouts.

'The power deficit, which amounts to 300 megawatts, was caused by damage to powerplants in a number of regions in North Sumatra,' Raidir said, adding that the power deficit forced PLN to impose rotating blackouts three times per day.

He said that PLN would rent 15 generators by late October to cope with the power shortage.

Consumer Advocacy and Protection Institute (LAPK) director Farid Wajdi said that PLN should resolve the power shortage quickly to prevent the escalation of violent protests in North Sumatra. (hrl)