Rolling blackouts have been reported in the Kalimantan interconnected grid, which covers East Kalimantan, South Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan, and West Jakarta. The disruptions have impacted community activities and businesses, as they take place alternately across a number of areas.
PT PLN (Persero) explained that the blackouts were not caused by a shortage of coal supply, but rather by simultaneous technical failures at several major power plants. This condition led to a drop in electricity supply capacity, necessitating load management to maintain system stability.
In East Kalimantan, disruptions occurred at the Handil Steam Power Plant (PLTU) and Tanjung Batu PLTU, both of which suffered damage and require repairs. The infrastructure maintenance is estimated to take around one month before operations can return to normal.
Meanwhile, in West Kalimantan, a leak was discovered in the boiler pipe of a 100 MW power plant, forcing an emergency shutdown. The situation was further exacerbated by scheduled maintenance at another plant, which left backup capacity highly limited.
For the South Kalimantan and Central Kalimantan regions, PLN stated that the supply drop stemmed from operational disruptions at a Gas and Steam Power Plant (PLTGU) unit, which forms part of the Kalimantan Interconnected System.
Amidst these disruptions, a number of civil society organizations, such as WALHI and JATAM, criticized the state of energy resilience in Kalimantan. They argued that the blackouts occurring in Indonesia’s largest coal-producing region highlight the urgent need for stronger energy governance and more equitable power infrastructure development.
Several analysts also pointed out the importance of accelerating transmission network development and expanding power generation capacity to keep pace with the growing electricity demands of both the public and the industrial sectors in Kalimantan.
As a response measure, PLN continues to optimize supply from backup power plants and implement limited load management to speed up the system recovery process. The public is also advised to monitor blackout schedules via the PLN Mobile application and unplug electronic devices during outages to avoid damage from power surges when the electricity comes back on.
The rolling blackouts in Kalimantan serve as a reminder of the vital importance of strengthening electricity infrastructure in the nation’s energy-producing regions. While power plant repairs are ongoing, the government and PLN are expected to accelerate system recovery while bolstering power supply resilience to prevent similar incidents from happening again.
