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PLN cuts power to road lights surrounding LRT Palembang
Relevant authorities had failed to pay the areas' electricity bills for the past six months.
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Commuters board and LRT train at Bumi Sriwijaya Station in Palembang, South Sumatra. (JP/Yulia Savitri)
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tate-owned electricity company PLN has cut off power to areas located near the light rail transit (LRT) in South Sumatra’s provincial capital of Palembang for owing the firm Rp 189 million (US$13,336) in electricity
The PLN spokesman for South Sumatra, Jambi and Bengkulu, Bakri, said the relevant authorities had failed to pay the areas' electricity bills for the past six months. In response, PLN cut the electricity from its Palembang Power Plant 3 (UP 3 Palembang), which is used to power road lighting.
“The power cut affects areas starting from the airport intersection,” he said in Palembang on Tuesday as quoted by kompas.com, adding that he was not sure when the electricity cut started but the areas had been in dark since Monday evening.
State-owned railway operator PT Kereta Api Indonesia’s KAI) spokesman in Palembang, Aida Suryanti, could not explain the power cut. She called on state-owned construction company PT Waskita Karya (LRT developer) or LRT management to provide an explanation.
Transportation Ministry railway director general Zulfikri said the power cut was the result of a misunderstanding. He explained that throughout 2018, the payment of electricity fees was the responsibility of the Palembang Housing and Residential Agency.
However, the agency had expressed its wish to immediately hand over the responsibility to the LRT management, he said, adding that the handover had not been realized because the LRT project had not been fully completed.
He said relevant stakeholders – PLN, LRT Palembang management, Waskita Karya and the Palembang Housing and Residential Agency – would meet to discuss the issue. (bbn)
