PLN will take 50 days to repair Bukit Asam power plant

Customers of the state owned electricity company PLN in Palembang and other parts of South Sumatra have to be more patient because the repair of the stalled unit of the steam power Bukit Asam would take at least 50 days to complete, Kompas reported on Tuesday.

Kasim S Depari, the head for the power generation and distribution of PLN for South Sumatra, said in Palembang on Sunday that the repair works might take 50 days to complete.

"If the problem could not be found, it means that we have to overhaul the power generation unit, and if it happens, it will need at least 50 days to complete. This means the unit will be able to operate in the middle of May," he added.

The electricity supply disconnection has angered the local residents. Villagers in several areas in Palembang, for example, lost their patient and then staged a demonstration against the electricity company in the city. They demanded the company to immediately cope with the acute shortage of power supply in the area.

The South Sumatra power grid which supplies the electricity to South Sumatra and Lampung provinces has suffered an acute shortage of power supply during the past two years due to a delay in the construction of new power plants.

Almost all residential areas in the two provinces have no choices but to let their power supply being cut off in rotation for several hours a day due to the power supply shortage. The interruption of power supply from steam power plant PLTU Bukit Asam, one of the region?s main electricity suppliers, certainly worsened the electricity supply in the region. (*)