Electricity crisis begins to hit South Sulawesi
Friday, July 29 2005 - 03:20 AM WIB
An electricity crisis has begun to hit South Sulawesi and surrounding areas due to the decline in the power supply from the Bakaru hydro power plant, one of the main electricity providers in the province.
Kompas reported Friday that state owned electricity company PLN had conducted a partial blackout in the entire parts of the province including the provincial capital of Makassar due to the shortage of the power supply.
The partial blackout not only affected the company's household customers but also industries in many parts of the province.
Arifuddin Nurdin, the head of PLN for South and Southeast Sulawesi said that the power supply from the 117-MW Bakaru hydro power plant had declined by 70 MW due to the decline in the water supply used to operate the power plant.
He said that the condition could be getting worse when the dry season began to peak in the next few months. (*)