Batam suffers brownouts as power plant enters maintenance

Electricity customers on Batam Island, Riau Islands Province, have to suffer from brownouts for about a month as the 55x2 MW Tanjung Kasam coal-fired power plant has to undergo a routine maintenance.

PLN Batam, a unit of state-owned electricity firm PLN, said in a statement received on Friday that the routine maintenance was started on May 5 and is expected to be completed on June 12.

The maintenance work has led to a power deficit in the island of about 35 MW, causing customers to suffer blackout for two days in a week, for about 3 hours each, said PLN Batam Operational Director M. Tagor EB Sidjabat.

The power plants in Batam produce a combined electricity supply of 340 MW, while peak load in the island stands at 320 MW. With such thin reserves, the shut-down of the Tanjung Kasam plant for maintenance work results in electricity supply deficit.

Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak