For employees of the state electricity firm PLN in North Sumatra, having disgruntled residents complain to them on a daily basis has become an inseparable part of the job.

Over the past decades, residents of the country’s fourth most populous province have experienced recurring blackouts in most parts of the region, a condition long attributed to an inadequate power supply on the northern tip of Sumatra Island.

The regular power outages have inevitably disrupted business and social activities in North Sumatra, as well as in neighboring Aceh province, home to more than 13 million and 5 million people, respectively.

PLN workers, however, can now expect to soon sigh in relief following the company’s plan to add 240 megawatts (MW) of electricity to the existing power grid with power generated by a Turkish floating power plant.

“I have been scolded by many customers because of the recurring blackouts. If we can solve the problem, then I will be able to sleep well,” Agil, a PLN supervisor in the North Sumatran capital of Medan, told The Jakarta Post on Monday.

Indonesia is currently attempting to develop the capacity to generate an additional 35,000 MW of electricity in the country, in hopes of boosting the national electrification ratio to 97 percent by 2019, as well as to meet the continuously increasing demand for electricity from household customers and industry players.

In North Sumatra and Aceh, the latest data show that the neighboring provinces are experiencing a power deficit of up to 200 MW during peak hours.

To provide a temporary solution for the problem, the Indonesian government has rented a Turkish marine vessel power plant (MVPP) for the next five years while it is completing the construction of several generating stations in northern Sumatra.

The 300-meter-long MVPP, named the Karadeniz Powership Onur Sultan, arrived at Medan’s Belawan Port on May 20 and underwent trial operations.

PLN Northern Sumatra spokesman Binharun M. Nababan said that the trial had gone well and the floating power plant was ready to provide 240 MW of additional power to PLN’s power grid starting this week.

“According to our schedule, the floating power plant will be connected to the PLN system by Friday,” Binharun told the Post.

North Sumatra Governor Tengku Erry Nuradi said the floating power plant was essential to meet the electricity demands in North Sumatra and Aceh, eliminating the blackouts locals have been complaining about.

PLN, meanwhile, expects to see the completion of the Sarulla geothermal power plant in North Sumatra’s North Tapanuli regency and the Pangkalan Susu coal-fired power plant in Langkat regency by 2018. The former would be able to supply 3x110 MW of electricity, while the latter 2x200 MW.

Despite their abundant natural resources and a relatively large markets, North Sumatra and Aceh have been struggling to attract foreign investors, mainly because of infrastructure problems, including those related to electricity supply.

During the first quarter of 2017, North Sumatra received US$195.3 million in foreign investment, putting it in 14th position among the country’s 34 provinces in terms of attractiveness to foreign investors. Aceh, meanwhile, stood at the bottom of the list with less than $1 million of realized foreign investment.

The deputy chairman of the North Sumatra chapter of the Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo), Johan Brien, said he appreciated the authorities’ efforts to overcome the power crisis in the region by bringing in the floating power plant.

“There are many businesses that have been complaining about the blackouts. I hope the floating power plant can provide a solution for the power crisis in North Sumatra,” he said. (dea/rdi)