By: Arya Pradipta) *
Power outages seem to be a non-trivial problem, especially as power outages in the Jabodetabek area which is the center of money circulation in Indonesia, are certainly not aple to aple if we compare these problems with the outer regions of Indonesia where electricity and signal providers are still struggling.
Power outages apparently have a very significant impact, Jabodetabek residents seem to experience mass unrest, especially for those who want to use the Integrated Moda Raya (MRT) facility, some residents are trapped inside the MRT and some others choose to use public transportation or transjakarta, even though transjakarta alone sometimes has to push – insistence that even if the electricity does not go out, then what happens when the electricity goes out, of course passengers will be more crowded.
Moreover, some houses in Jakarta are very dependent on water pumps for the needs of toilets, power outages will certainly make Jakarta residents difficult to get water, certainly not compared to areas that can enjoy the facilities of the PDAM. Power outages can be a crisis that threatens the productivity of Jabodetabek residents as a whole.
The most impact of millennial children is that they cannot surf in cyberspace so that the world seems to end. Some photo postings on Instagram as if they have to hold because it’s hard to get a signal.
This incident certainly made PLN a monthly target for netizens. Because, almost all economic matters, especially in Jakarta stopped, such as coffee shop business, laundry, screen printing and others.
Regarding the crisis, PT PLN immediately conveyed an apology. The reason is the disruption to a number of power plants in Java.
He said that there was a disturbance in gas turbines 1 to 6 Suralaya. Meanwhile, gas turbine 7 is currently in the off position. In addition, the Turbine power plant in Cilegon also experienced disruption.
This disruption has caused power outages in Jakarta and surrounding areas to experience blackouts. At the same time there were also interruptions to the 500 kV SUTET transmission in West Java, power cuts also spread to the Greater Jakarta area.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo has given a reprimand to PT PLN Persero, that the electricity blackout event also happened a dozen years ago. He also said that the incident should not be repeated.
Jokowi was surprised when several PLN officials were seen unable to do much when the electricity went out. In fact, PLN can be regarded as a large company. He considered that companies like PLN should have governance of risks that might be faced.
Jokowi considers that the power outage incident in Jabodetabek does not only harm PLN as a State-Owned Enterprise (BUMN). For this incident consumers are also very disadvantaged, especially for those who have a small business in their homes.
Previously Jokowi had injected capital of Rp 6.5 trillion to PLN. With consideration to improve the capital structure and increase the Company’s business capacity. The Government deems it necessary to increase the participation of the Republic of Indonesia State capital into the share capital of the Company of the Company, PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara.
Based on these considerations, Jokowi has signed Government Regulation Number 51 Year 2019 concerning Addition of State Capital Investment of the Republic of Indonesia to PT PLN’s Equity Capital.
For this incident PLN will provide compensation to customers due to a power outage that lasted for two days since yesterday.
The compensation will be given through the system. So customers do not need to report to PLN because it will automatically enter the payment account.
The provision of compensation depends on the customer’s contract power. In addition, the amount of compensation also depends on the use of each month. With the provision of compensation. PLN hopes to provide satisfaction to customers. Although indeed the compensation provided is not as big as what was estimated.
Compensation funds due to simultaneous power outages in half of the island of Java are estimated at Rp 839.88 billion. The compensation has been regulated in Ministerial Regulation (Permen) No. 27 of 2017 concerning service quality and costs associated with the distribution of electricity by PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (Persero). Therefore, the power outage is expected to be a reflection of PLN so as not to repeat its mistakes in the future because it will have a systemic impact on people’s lives.
) * The writer is a social economic activist