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Ngurah Rai airport crippled by power outages

An hour-long electricity blackout disrupted operations at Bali’s Ngurah Rai International Airport on Tuesday, leaving hundreds of passengers stranded at check-in counters

Wasti Atmodjo and Luh De Suriyani (The Jakarta Post)
Denpasar
Wed, March 16, 2011

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Ngurah Rai airport crippled by power outages

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n hour-long electricity blackout disrupted operations at Bali’s Ngurah Rai International Airport on Tuesday, leaving hundreds of passengers stranded at check-in counters.

Risman Torry, the general and personnel manager of airport operator PT Angkasa Pura, told The Jakarta Post that the airport’s domestic terminal suddenly went dark and all operations including check-in procedures ceased.

Power went out in several areas across the island from 11:22 a.m. to 1:31 p.m., affecting vital areas, including the airport, which in 2009 recorded 76,797 flights, carrying 9,625, 433 passengers.

“Fortunately our emergency generators held up,” Torry said. “The blackouts did not disrupt flight schedules.”

Apart from Kuta, electricity outages also affected Sanur, Nusa Dua, Denpasar, Gianyar, Badung, Karangasem and Klungkung.

Dadan Koernia Poetra, the general manager of the Bali branch of state-owned electricity monopoly PT PLN, said his company was looking into the cause of the blackouts.

“We apologize for not giving advanced warning for this sudden blackout. It was beyond our control and we will soon find out the cause,” he told a media conference.

Dadan said there was a problem with the grid between Padang Sambian in West Denpasar and the Pesanggaran power plant near Sanur.

“There may have been a large tree or something else that hit the 150-kilovolt transmission cables,” he said.

Bali had the capacity to generate 604 megawatts of power in 2010, with electricity demand increasing 11 percent annually to cater to the island’s growing tourist industry. During peak hours, the island needs 548.5 megawatts, with only 80 megawatts for emergency supplies.

“This condition leaves us quite vulnerable. In 2018, we predict Bali will need 1,238 megawatts during peak hours. We expect that all parties including the local government, tourist industry and community give their support to accelerate any electricity power plant projects here,” he said.

Dadan added that with current conditions, PLN faced difficulties maintaining its existing power plants. PLN is planning to conduct routine maintenance on the Gilimanuk power plant in West Bali, which generates 130 megawatts.

Ngurah Adnyana, the operational director of the Java and Bali branch of PLN, said that in 2018, Bali would generate 2,027.6 megawatts of electricity if all planned projects were realized.

The projects include the installation of underwater cables and the operation of the Celukan Bawang power plant in Buleleng regency and geothermal power plant project in Bedugul.

The Bali administration previously said it opposed the development of a new power plant, citing potential environmental damage, including the Bali Crossing project connecting the resort island to Java.

“We have adopted a clean and green Bali policy. We oppose the use of fossil fuel-powered generators because of the resulting pollution,” Governor Made Mangku Pastika insisted.

“We should promote the use of gas or other renewable energy sources such as hydroelectric power and solar energy to keep Bali clean.”

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