Antara, Bandar Lampung – The recent widespread power outages in many regions of Sumatra have provided a lucrative opportunity for traders selling a portable power source, commonly known as a generator set, or genset. Several shops in Bandar Lampung, for example, reported that they ran out of stock within two days of the blackout.

The blackout on Sumatra Island was caused by the failure of the Lubuklinggau-Lahat 275 kV high-voltage overhead transmission line (SUTT) in South Sumatra from June 4 to 5.

"Since the power outage a day or two days ago, the sales of generator sets have increased a lot," Rudi said, a shopkeeper at the Palapa Mesin, in Bandar Lampung, on Thursday, June 6, as reported by Antara.

He explained that before the breakdown, the maximum genset sales was only one unit per week. In the past two days, he claimed that at least 50 units of genset of various types and power had been sold out in his shop.

"We are selling gensets of various power capacities from 750 watts to 8000 watts. That's all sold. People are buying them abruptly because the power outage lasts a long time."

In addition, Rudi said his shop had also been flooded with people seeking repairs for their generator sets. "Our mechanics were overwhelmed in the past two days," he added.

Another shop owner, Bambang, shared a similar experience. His store's stock of generators had also completely sold out within two days of the blackout. "We have 30 units in stock and all of them have sold out since yesterday. Besides, demand for generator services has also surged," he said.

State-owned electricity company PLN of the Lampung Distribution Unit (UID) claimed that electricity services for 854,436 customers in the region were gradually being restored as the substation had returned to normal by 1 p.m. local time on Wednesday.

Source: https://en.tempo.co/read/1877027/power-outage-in-sumatras-lampung-leads-to-surge-in-genset-sale