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s fires engulfing Jakarta are mostly caused by electrical problems, the Jakarta chapter of the National Committee for Safe Electrical Installation (Konsuil) revealed on Monday that only 15 percent of houses in the capital had their electricity installations inspected and certified by the committee.

Konsuil, formed under a 2003 regulation of the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, is required to inspect buildings using power between 450 and 2,200 volt-amperes. Without Konsuil certification, valid for 10 years, buildings should not be connected to the grid.

An official of the committee, who refused to be named, said the committee was frequently bypassed by unscrupulous officials of the state-owned electricity company PT PLN, who told customers “to skip inspection and certification as it consumes time and money”.

“We need only three days to make an inspection with tariffs ranging from Rp 60,000 [US$6.30] to Rp 95,000, depending on the power of the electricity to be installed,” the official said. “However, PLN’s unscrupulous officials and employees of installation companies tell customers to skip the inspection to rake in more money for themselves.”

He said that such actions were dangerous because if the materials and circuits were not in accordance with the safety standards, they could lead to electrical short circuits and fires.

Jakarta Police data show that 35 out of 66 blazes between July 21 and Aug. 21 were caused by electrical glitches.

Data released by the fire agency show that 651 fires occurred between January and Aug. 24, claiming the lives of 31 and leaving 15,865 people homeless. Of the total, 435 were caused by electrical problems. In 2011, the agency recorded 948 fires, 60 percent of them caused by electrical issues.

PLN corporate communications officer Bambang Dwijayanto said that though most of the fires were caused by electrical problems, his company held no responsibility for the blazes. He said that PLN set mini circuit breakers (MCB) in each meter in every house to protect from accidental short-circuits and overloads.

He, therefore, blamed the blazes on Konsuil for failing to inspect installations and customers for using electricity recklessly.

He said that although an MCB would shut down an entire building’s power if a short circuit took place, it could not prevent sparks caused by the overheating of low-quality cables. Sparks were the main cause of the widespread fires engulfing Jakarta.

“Our [PLN’s] task is to provide customers with electricity but how electricity is used and installed is not our responsibility,” he said.

In response to the rampant fires, Bambang said that PLN, in cooperation with the city administration, would introduce safe ways of using electricity in housing complexes. But he added that the two parties had yet to discuss the matter in depth.

“We will show people the dangers of electricity theft, of using one plug for several connections at once and of non-standard materials. All of them can lead to overheating and sparks,” he said. “We urge customers to check their electricity installations every 10 to 15 years.”

Meanwhile, the Jakarta Election Supervisory Committee (Panwaslu Jakarta) is urging the poll organizer issue a circular explaining the technical details for eligible voters fallen victim to fire to still be able to vote, despite losing identification and voting documents.

“The voters need to understand how to retain their voting rights. They need to know the procedures,” Panwaslu Jakarta chairman Ramdansyah said on Monday.

The runoff for the gubernatorial election is scheduled for Sept. 20. A total of 6,996,951 people are registered on the voters’ roll. (aml)