Kotopanjang hydro power plant stops operation due to dry weather
Friday, November 4 2016 - 01:59 AM WIB
The 114 MW Kotopanjang hydro power plant in Kampar, Riau Province, has stopped operation during the past month, the first since it started operation in 1997, due to the unseasonal dry weather condition, Kompas.com reported on Thursday.
The news portal quoted Taufik A. Muhammad, a supervisor at state-owned power firm PT PLN, as saying that the dry weather has caused water level at the Kotopanjang dam drop to its lowest of 73.5-meter.
The suspension of the hydro power plant has caused rotating blackout in the region during peak load, the portal said.
Meanwhile, environmentalists said that illegal logging activities and the conversion of forest in the region into oil palm plantation have worsened the situation. (*)