(Jakarta/Padang/Pekanbaru, 24th) - A large-scale blackout occurred on the Indonesian island of Sumatra on Friday evening, leaving tens of millions of residents without power and disrupting transportation and public activities in multiple provinces. Indonesia’s state electricity company worked through the night to restore service, but electricity supply was still not fully restored after 24 hours.
According to The Jakarta Globe, on Friday (May 22) at 6:44 p.m. local time, the Sumatra power grid experienced a malfunction, causing power outages for 13.1 million households in provinces such as Aceh, North Sumatra, West Sumatra, Riau, and Jambi.
The state electricity company said the incident was related to a fault in a 275 kV transmission line, and believes that bad weather was the main cause of the malfunction. After the incident, the power company dispatched hundreds of technicians for repairs and conducted a comprehensive inspection of the transmission system.
The blackout plunged major cities across Sumatra into darkness, severely impacting public services and economic activities. In Pekanbaru, the capital of Riau province, traffic lights stopped working, causing severe congestion during the evening rush hour. A similar situation occurred in Padang, the capital of West Sumatra, with traffic paralyzed on multiple main roads.
The blackout plunged major cities across Sumatra into darkness, severely impacting public services and economic activities. In Pekanbaru, the capital of Riau province, traffic lights stopped working, causing severe congestion during the evening rush hour. A similar situation occurred in Padang, the capital of West Sumatra, with traffic paralyzed on multiple main roads.
Food vendors and shopkeepers said they had to rely on candles and mobile phone flashlights for lighting, and some businesses were forced to close early due to the outage.
Residents in North Sumatra told China News Service that the blackout occurred during rainfall. In the provincial capital Medan, apart from a few areas that remained lit, most districts were "pitch black." Some universities and hospitals relied on generators to keep operating.
The president director of Indonesia’s state electricity company, Darmawan, said at a press conference on Saturday (May 23) that the damaged transmission network was repaired within about two hours, allowing the power plants to rejoin the grid. Hydropower and gas power plants were able to quickly respond and support the recovery process. However, coal-fired power plants took much longer to restart, requiring 15 to 20 hours to fully resume operations.
Residents in North Sumatra told China News Service that the blackout occurred during rainfall. In the provincial capital Medan, apart from a few areas that remained lit, most districts were "pitch black." Some universities and hospitals relied on generators to keep operating.
The president director of Indonesia’s state electricity company, Darmawan, said at a press conference on Saturday (May 23) that the damaged transmission network was repaired within about two hours, allowing the power plants to rejoin the grid. Hydropower and gas power plants were able to quickly respond and support the recovery process. However, coal-fired power plants took much longer to restart, requiring 15 to 20 hours to fully resume operations.
The state electricity company stated that by 10 a.m. Saturday, electricity had been restored to 8.3 million households; of the 5,334 MW affected, more than 3,192 MW had been restored; and of the 176 substations impacted, 157 had resumed operation.
According to Kompas, by Saturday evening, power had been restored to most affected areas, with only some locations in Jambi province remaining without electricity.
With a population of 60 million, Sumatra is one of Indonesia’s six major economic corridors prioritized for development.