Apriadi Gunawan, Jakarta – Repeated power outages across multiple regions in recent days have disrupted essential services, interrupted critical examinations and been linked to fatal incidents, prompting renewed scrutiny of the reliability of state-owned electricity company PLN.
In Medan, North Sumatra, the blackouts have now triggered a looming clean water supply crisis after critical equipment operated by regional water utility PDAM Tirtanadi was damaged during the outages.
PDAM Tirtanadi President Director Ardian Surbakti said several critical machines at the utility's water treatment facilities were damaged by rolling blackouts that hit North Sumatra in recent days, disrupting clean water services across parts of Medan from Tuesday.
"The damaged equipment has severely affected our ability to produce and distribute clean water, resulting in service disruptions for thousands of customers in seven of Medan's 21 districts," Ardian said on Tuesday.
As an emergency response measure, Ardian said PDAM Tirtanadi had deployed clean water tanker trucks to each of the affected districts to help meet residents' immediate needs.
Residents in affected areas expressed frustration over the disruption, saying the water outage had compounded the hardship caused by ongoing power cuts.
Jefri Hidayat, a resident of Medan Denai district, said clean water had stopped flowing to his home since Tuesday morning, leaving his family struggling to meet daily needs.
"The power supply has yet to return to normal, and now we're dealing with a water outage as well. Life has become increasingly difficult. I hope services are restored soon," Jefri told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.
North Sumatra has been grappling with repeated power outages since June 4 after 12 PLN transmission towers were damaged by heavy rain and strong winds, disrupting electricity supply across the province.
PLN initially estimated that services would return to normal by Wednesday, but later revised its timeline, saying full restoration was expected by Sunday.
The prolonged outages have also been linked to a fatal incident. On June 4, a married couple in Medan was found dead after reportedly spending the night inside their air-conditioned car during the blackout.
Police are continuing to investigate the deaths, but preliminary findings indicate the couple may have succumbed to carbon monoxide poisoning.
The disruptions were not confined to Medan. Several regions across Java also reported power outages in recent days, including Bekasi, Sukabumi, Bogor and Tasikmalaya in West Java; Semarang, Tegal, Boyolali and Wonogiri in Central Java; as well as Yogyakarta.
In Sukabumi, a power outage disrupted an elementary school student's participation in the online National Science Olympiad (OSN), forcing her to withdraw mid-exam. The blackout struck while fifth-grader Nadia Putri Muda Paramita of SDN Gandasoli Elementary School was taking the test, abruptly ending her attempt to compete.
Nadia said the setback was particularly painful as she had spent six months preparing for the competition.
Videos of her crying after the incident later circulated on social media, drawing widespread sympathy from netizens.
In Cileungsi, Bogor, a five-hour power outage on Wednesday caused 47-year-old resident Nawir to lose five of his prized koi fish after the aquarium's aeration system stopped functioning.
"I lost five koi after the aeration system shut down because there was no electricity. I tried everything I could, but I couldn't save them. They couldn't survive without oxygen," Nawir told Kompas.com on Wednesday.
Nawir expressed frustration not only over his personal losses but also over what he said was a lack of advance notice from PLN regarding the outage. He also criticized what he viewed as an imbalance between the obligations placed on customers and the accountability of the state-owned company as the country's sole electricity provider.
"If customers make a mistake, we're fined or disconnected. But when they make a mistake, nothing happens. There's no reciprocity. It's not fair," Nawir said.
The string of blackouts in North Sumatra and parts of Java comes just weeks after a massive power outage plunged nearly all of Sumatra into darkness from the evening of May 22 until power was fully restored two days later.
The blackout was triggered by a fault in the 275-kilovolt (kV) Muara Bungo – Sungai Rumbai transmission corridor in Jambi, which destabilized Sumatra's interconnected power system and led to widespread outages affecting more than 13 million customers.
Fabby Tumiwa, Chief Executive Officer of the Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR), said the public requires a transparent explanation from the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry and PLN regarding the reliability of the national power supply. He said a comprehensive investigation is needed to identify the root causes of the recent outages.
"The situation highlights weaknesses in the regulatory system's ability to ensure the reliability of the national electricity grid," he said on Thursday as quoted by Kontan.co.id.
Dwi Anggia, spokesperson for the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, said the recent power outages affecting parts of Java were caused by technical issues within PLN's infrastructure. She also rejected concerns that the disruptions were linked to coal supply shortages.
"We continue to coordinate with PLN management to take mitigation steps and improve infrastructure so that similar disruptions do not happen again. I can assure you that the current energy supply system is secure," she said.