PLN ready to face class action over power blackout in Java and Bali

State owned electricity company PLN is ready to face a class action from its customers over the power blackout, which hit larger parts of Java and Bali on Thursday.

PLN's president director Eddie Widiono said that PLN would be responsible for the losses suffered by its customers, especially industrial users due the power failure which caused power blackout for more than seven hours in Java and Bali.

He said that the electricity company was also considering to pay compensation particularly for industrial users, many of which had been forced to stop their operations due to the cut in the power supply.

"The compensation will be paid in accordance with the consumers' protection law," he said.

Electricity supplies failed at about 10:15 a.m. local time to offices in Jakarta including the ministry of energy and the stock exchange. Cities in West and Central Java and parts of East Java also had power outages.

The consumers advisory group YLKI has urged the public to report the losses they had suffered due to the power failure and promised to help them fight for their rights to get compensation from PLN.

"PLN should be responsible for all the losses suffered by its customers due to the power blackout," said Sudaryatmo, an executive of the Jakarta office of YLKI. (dino)