Governance Reform at PLN

KOMPAS/HERU SRI KUMORO

PT PLN acting managing director Sripeni Inten Cahyani speaks to reporters after meeting with members of Commission VII of the House of Representatives (DPR) on Tuesday (6/8/2019) in Jakarta. The meeting discussed the massive power outage that affected Jakarta, Banten, Central Java and parts of West Java on Sunday (4/8/2019). Sripeni said that the electricity had been fully restored and asked the commission for time to investigate the cause of the incident.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — State electricity company PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) plans to conduct a comprehensive investigation involving experts or academics specializing in electrical engineering. However, the timing has not been ascertained because of the complexity of the massive power outage that occurred on Sunday (4/8/2019).

The results of the investigation are expected to reveal the main causes of the power outage, as well as lead to improvements in PLN\'s performance and procedures. In this regard, PLN is preparing a program to increase the reliability of the Java-Bali transmission grid, which includes power stations, transmission lines and substations.

On the other hand, suggestions have been made that the PLN management be restructured and overseen by an independent body.

The complexity of the Java-Bali grid can be seen in its system of 250 power stations, 500 substations, 500 kilovolt (kV) transmission lines spanning 5,000 kilometers and 150 kV transmission lines spanning 7,000 km.

KOMPAS/RIZA FATHONI

Brightly lit skyscrapers on Jl. Jendral Sudirman rise above the darkened area of Senayan in Central Jakarta during the blackout on Sunday (4/8/2019). The massive power outage disrupted transportation services and economic activities for millions of residents in Jakarta and surrounding areas.

"We submitted to the House [of Representatives] Commission VII, requesting time to carry out an assessment and investigation. We agreed to periodically report progress on the investigation to Commission VII," PLN acting president director Sripeni Inten Cahyani told reporters on Tuesday (6/8) after a closed meeting with House Commission VII at the Senayan legislative complex in Jakarta.

The preliminary findings show that the network disruption occurred along the 500 kV high-voltage transmission line in Ungaran, Central Java. A probable cause was a tree that reportedly fell on the cable. The line disruption caused a power outage in Greater Jakarta, parts of Central Java, Banten and West Java. However, Sripeni did not confirm the suspected cause of the massive outage.

Separately, Vice President Jusuf Kalla said that the cause of the power outage must be discovered and resolved. He also suggested a number of steps, including installing power plants in western Java.

Meanwhile, Elrika Hamdi of the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis said that the audit into PLN must include assessing the company’s assets in terms of power plants and networks, governance and operations and PLN\'s business plan.

In addition to the audit, said Elrika, PLN\'s governance structure needed redesigning. An independent body was needed to oversee long-term plans and operations for an electricity company that had minimal competition, such as PLN in Indonesia.

House Commission VII member Maman Abdurrahman of the Golkar Party faction said the commission had three focuses: the source of the problem, investigating the cause and to ensure compensation for affected customers, as well as overseeing long-term improvements to PLN.

Commission VII member Bara K. Hasibuan of the National Mandate Party (PAN) faction said that the investigation would not only determine the cause of the power outage, but also look at the reasons behind the lack of a backup plan. This was because the incident not only concerned public interests, but also highlighted the vulnerability of the Java-Bali power grid.

KOMPAS/WISNU WIDIANTORO

Motorists and motorcyclists brave congestion at the intersection of Jl. Pos Pengumben Raya and Jl. Sukabumi Selatan in South Jakarta on Sunday (4/8/2019). Traffic lights stopped functioning during the massive power outage that reportedly affected half of Java, causing unusual weekend congestion on many streets in the capital and its suburbs.

Industry Minister Airlangga Hartarto stressed that electricity was a vital part of industrial infrastructure. Power outages disrupted industrial performance. "What was disrupted were not only small and medium industries, but also the process industries that operate 24 hours a day, like the chemical industry," Airlangga said in Jakarta on Tuesday.

Chemical, pharmaceuticals and textile industries director general Achmad Sigit Dwiwahjono of Industry Ministry said that several industry players had reported losses due to the power outage. "In the industrial sector, an eight-hour power outage means a rather large loss, around Rp 300 billion in the chemical sector alone," he said.

Several chemical plants were still unable to resume operations by Tuesday, as production could not be restarted easily or immediately as soon as power was restored.

Sripeni said that 21.9 million customers had been affected by the power outage on Sunday, with total compensation estimated to be Rp 839 billion.

Reserve

Vice President Kalla said Jakarta only had an operating reserve of 20 percent, whereas the minimum reserve requirement was 30 percent. He cited a comparison with Singapore, which had an operating reserve of 100 percent so maintenance and repairs would not interfere with consumer’s services.

KOMPAS/LASTI KURNIA

Motorcyclists wait to buy fuel on Sunday (4/8/2019) at Pertamina gas station No. 31.122.03 on Jl. Tentara Pelajar, Jakarta. The gas station switched to a portable generator during the massive power outage that reportedly affected half of Java.

Kalla added that a 6,000-megawatt (MW) power plant must be built every year, or a 30,000 MW plant every five years. The additional plants would meet the increasing electricity demands of population, industrial and economic growth.

(CAS/NAD/KRN/INA/FER)