On the evening of the 22nd, a massive power outage occurred on Indonesia’s Sumatra Island, plunging millions of residents into darkness and impacting transportation and public activities across multiple provinces.
According to a report by China News Service, Indonesia’s state electricity company confirmed that at around 18:44 local time on the 22nd, a fault occurred in the Sumatra interconnected power grid, causing widespread power outages in Aceh Province, North Sumatra Province, West Sumatra Province, Riau Province, and parts of Central Sumatra. The company has approximately 4.4 million users in North Sumatra, 2.6 million in Riau, 1.96 million in West Sumatra, and 1.7 million in Aceh.
Preliminary investigations indicate that the incident is related to a malfunction in a 275kV transmission line, with severe weather believed to be a key contributing factor.
As of 7:00 on the 23rd, the accident had damaged 540 power supply lines, of which 173 had been restored to operation. Indonesia’s state power company stated that it had dispatched hundreds of technical personnel to carry out emergency repairs and was conducting a comprehensive inspection of the transmission system.
The blackout disrupted traffic order in many areas of Sumatra. In several major cities, traffic lights stopped working, causing severe road congestion during the evening rush hour. Some businesses closed early due to the outage, and many residents relied on candles and phone flashlights for lighting.
Residents in North Sumatra Province told a China News Service reporter that the blackout on the evening of the 22nd coincided with rainfall, and except for a few areas, most parts of the provincial capital Medan were “in complete darkness.” Some universities and hospitals maintained operations using generators. Locals also reported that the outage caused unstable internet signals, resulting in intermittent phone calls with the reporter. As of the time of the report, electricity supply in Medan had not been fully restored.
Sumatra Island has a population of over 58 million and is one of Indonesia’s six major economic corridors for key development.