Jakarta and Tangerang will face scheduled electricity blackouts in the coming weeks, as two power stations feeding the city will run out of gas to fuel their generators, an official says.

State power firm PT PLN announced Friday the power blackouts would occur every day from July 11 until July 25 at two different times for the two cities.

"The first period will last from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. and the second one from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. Each period will affect different customers," PLN Jakarta distribution manager Budi Nugroho said.

Supply of electricity to strategic places such as hospitals will be maintained, he added.

Electricity consumption in Jakarta can reach between 4,500 megawatts (MW) and 5,000 MW during its peak hours, which usually occurs between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.

Budi said PLN had to carry out the rotating blackouts as two of its power stations -- a 900 MW plant in Tanjung Priok and a 750 MW plant in Muara Karang, both in North Jakarta -- would have their gas supply temporarily terminated.

Both stations receive gas from multinational energy giant BP West Java, which will halt gas supply in two weeks for routine maintenance of its central flow station offshore West Java, including the installation of a low-pressure flare tip.

BP's Java finance and communication manager, Ida Yusmiati, said the maintenance was part of normal procedure. "BP West Java needs this to ensure that its facilities can continue to operate safely," she said.

Ida added that BP had informed PLN last year about the maintenance and had increased gas supply prior to the halt.

According to BP, its contract with PLN requires it to supply 135 BBTUD, but in the last six months BP had increased its supply to 149 BBTUD. BP said it had raised supply to more than 160 BBTUD in the last two weeks.

BP said the extra supply was aimed at giving PLN a chance to build up its stocks of gas for operation during the halt of gas supply.

Budi said that state oil and gas company PT Pertamina would supply 100,000 kiloliters of medium fuel oil (MFO) and 150,000 kiloliters of high speed diesel (HSD) to replace gas from BP.

Despite this effort, Budi said, the blackouts were unavoidable.

He added that PLN would improve its configuration transmission networks to minimize the impact of the power shortage. Consumers' participation through energy saving measures was also needed, he said.

Budi said that customers affected by the blackouts would get a 10 percent reduction of the subscription fees component in their electricity bills. However, this compensation would be given only if the blackouts led PLN to fail to meet its service standards, which were determined not only by the blackouts but also by other benchmarks in different service areas.

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