Millions of Indonesians were affected by the widespread blackout on Sunday, August 4, 2019.
State utility electricity company PLN had reportedly experienced disruptions at several power plants.
About 30 million people across Jakarta and its surrounding areas such as Depok, Bogor, Tangerang and areas of West Java experienced blackout in their homes . The new Mass Rapid Transit was also terminated as passengers were evacuated when its power went off. Disruptions also occurred in the city’s commuter line trains.
“The train stopped when we approached the station,” said Silviani, a passenger stranded at Sudirman station in central Jakarta. “They said it was a blackout. So we got out and walked here.”
The blackout, which started on Sunday morning has also caused sporadic disruptions in mobile phone services and cash machines. Many heavy buildings relied on generators for electric supply.
The outages also caused the traffic lights to switch off, causing congestion. PLN said the blackout was caused when a gas turbine at a major power plant went down and by a disruption at another facility. Both are on the western end of Java.
Source: Channel News Asia
Image: The Straits Times