Jakarta – Passengers waited helplessly in dimly lit terminals as the runway fell eerily quiet.

Activity at Hasanuddin International Airport in Makassar – South Sulawesi's major airport – came to a standstill as a region-wide electricity blackout suspended operations for several hours.

Flights delayed. Schedules abandoned. Travelers frustrated and angry.

Elvi, a passenger headed for Jakarta, said she had arrived at 4:30 a.m. to a pitch-black airport. "The check-in gates were closed. We all had to wait outside," she said.

The three-hour blackout on Saturday, which began at about 3 a.m., was an example of how private, public and commercial activities across the country are being disrupted by the nation's growing power deficit.

In Riau province, the frustrations caused by blackouts are boiling over into a civil lawsuit.

For much of the past two months, the local state-owned electricity company (PLN) has conducted a weekly rotating blackout of two hours once a day in Pekanbaru.

But the frequency has increased during the past week to about three times a day, with each lasting for up to three hours.

The provincial chapter of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) is now preparing a class action against PLN.

"We expect accountability from PLN," Muhammad Herwan, Kadin's executive director in Riau, told The Jakarta Post on Monday.

"What are the solutions? What compensation can we expect for these blackouts? If they cannot ensure a sustainable supply of electricity, then let the private sector handle it."

Head of the Riau branch of the Indonesia Employers Association (Apindo), Hamdani Tarigan, warned of the impact the blackouts could have on investment.

"This morning I received a report from Japanese investors who left because of this situation," he said.

But there seems to be no relief in sight. PLN said its central Sumatra grid has a deficit of 200 megawatts.

Two steam turbines in Ombilin, West Sumatra, are undergoing repair, and water levels in Singkarak Lake and Koto Panjang are low because of the dry season.

PLN branch manager in Pekanbaru Ericson Sidabutar acknowledged the shortcomings. "No one is doing this on purpose. No one is profiting. We're all suffering," he said. "We can only urge the public to be more sparing in using electricity."

It is a story that is becoming increasingly familiar across the country. PLN also announced on Friday there would be rotating blackouts in Tangerang and Jakarta.

Businesses estimated losses for Tangerang industries could reach more than Rp 2 billion (US$2.17 million) per day.

Makassar residents' revered airport quickly came "online" again. But many are bracing for the next blackout.

They too are hostages to the national electricity shortfall.

Head of the PLN local public affairs office, Muhammad Yamin Loleh, could offer nothing more than a warning.

"We urge critical installations in South Sulawesi to prepare their own generators," he said. "The fact is, electricity supply is limited."

[Andi Hajramurni in Makassar and Rizal Harahap in Pekanbaru contributed to this article.]