R

ecurrent blackouts in North Sulawesi and East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) over the past several weeks have left local residents frustrated as they struggle to carry out daily activities.

The blackouts imposed by state-owned electricity firm PLN in the Suluttenggo (North Sulawesi, Central Sulawesi and Gorontalo) area have recently worsened, with durations lasting up to eight hours daily.

Charensia Repie, a resident of Minahasa regency, North Sulawesi, claimed the blackouts had severely disrupted her activities.

'€œThe blackouts occur in the morning and electricity is only restored at night,'€ she said on Tuesday.

Charensia also expressed disappointment over the long-standing power outages as they had caused her electrical appliances at home to become defective.

Lion Hotel and Plaza Manado general manager Rahmat Billy, meanwhile, said the power outages had impacted operational costs.

'€œOur expenses have swelled. If we operate the generator from 5 to 10 p.m. we may use up around 700 liters of diesel, which costs us Rp 5.5 million (US$400),'€ added Rahmat.

Last month, local residents even reported that many parts of North Sulawesi experiencing 12-hour power outages for several days.

Meanwhile, in Kupang, NTT, people are also angry at PLN for the blackouts that have taken place over the past month.

'€œWe demand that PLN not impose blackouts on Fridays and Sundays when residents in Kupang pray, especially ahead of Christmas,'€ Rev. Johanis Raja, a local, said recently.

Hundreds of Kupang residents held a rally on Friday in front of the Kupang branch of PLN, demanding that the company immediately end the recurrent blackouts, which last between six and eight hours every day.

'€œThis is our third rally this month,'€ Indonesian Consumers Foundation'€™s (YLKI) NTT head, Marthen Mulik, who took part in the rally, said.

Manado, one of the largest cities in Sulawesi Island, is home to some 420,000 people, while the NTT provincial capital of Kupang has more than 320,000 residents.

Separately, PLN Suluttenggo general manager Baringin Nababan said the power outages in North Sulawesi were mainly attributed to the decreasing water level in a local dam, where the company operates its hydropower stations.

Despite the recent start of the rainy season, Baringin said the power stations would only be able to start operating at maximum capacity early next year.

'€œThe water level reached 191 centimeters yesterday, whereas the normal level is 250 cm,'€ he said.

PLN Kupang branch manager Maria Gunawan, meanwhile, said that she appreciated the input of Kupang residents.

She said the blackouts were attributed to transmission faults at the Maulafa-Bolok steam power plant, where two of its generators had been damaged, causing a 20-megawatt power deficit.

'€œOn behalf of PLN, I apologize for the unsatisfactory service,'€ said Maria.