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North Sumatra suffers from power crisis, disrupting daily activities
Recurrent blackouts in North Sumatra over the past several days have left local residents and businesses frustrated as they struggle to carry out their activities
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ecurrent blackouts in North Sumatra over the past several days have left local residents and businesses frustrated as they struggle to carry out their activities. Damage-prone power plants have been blamed for the recurring power outages in the province.
In the past few days, the province's capital city of Medan and several other regions experienced rotating blackouts, each lasting for up to three hours, due to damage at the Pangkalan Susu coal-fired steam power plant (PLTU) in Langkat regency, which only completed construction last year.
Apart from the Pangkalan Susu PLTU, other power plants in North Sumatra such as the Labuhan Angin PLTU in Sibolga and Belawan gas power plant (PLTG) are also prone to damage. The three power plants serve as the main power supply to the province.
PLN Sumatra's power plant construction project manager Muhammad Yusuf acknowledged the Unit I Pangkalan Susu PLTU was currently undergoing issues and had caused several regions in the province to experience blackouts. He said PLN had suffered a 100-megawatt (MW) power deficit due to the problems.
He added that the Pangkalan Susu PLTU was relied upon to supply power to Aceh and North Sumatra. Consequently, he said, when the power plant experiences disturbances, regions in North Sumatra and Aceh would be affected.
Yusuf, however, denied that the Pangkalan Susu PLTU suffered failures due to using second-hand or substandard materials brought in from China, as the troubles experienced were mainly because of cables being severed by falling trees and fires.
Indonesian Employers Association's (Apindo) North Sumatra chapter secretary Laksamana Adhyaksa said the blackouts had led to business stagnating, adding that many businesspeople had nearly been put out of business due to the power outages.
'If power continues to not function, so could business activity. What will happen to this province if businesses are paralyzed by blackouts?' Laksamana told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.
He said the recurrent power issue in North Sumatra should be probed immediately in order to prevent businesses from collapsing.
'The management of state power company PLN should be thoroughly audited, especially regarding the poor quality of power plants in North Sumatra, which are susceptible to damage,' Laksamana said.
The Pangkalan Susu PLTU was built by Guangdong Power Engineering Co. Ltd. and PT Bagus Karya in 2009 in Pangkalan Susu district, in Langkat regency. The 400-MW power plant, which commenced operations in 2015, was part of the government's 'Fast Track Program' to achieve 10,000 MW of power for Sumatra.
Yusuf said PLN were currently building the second stage 400-MW Pangkalan Susu PLTU. 'The Pangkalan Susu PLTU will have a total output of 800 MW [once finished], which would comfortably light up the North Sumatra and Aceh regions,' he said.
North Sumatra PLN manager Haris Nasution, however, expressed that regions in the province would still be at risk of power outages due to faults experienced by many plants. 'The power reserve in North Sumatra is between just 5 and 7 percent, so if power plants face trouble the region will be in darkness,' said Haris.
