Papua's Asmat Complains over One Month Long Power Outage

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - People of Asmat, Papua voiced complaints about the power outage which has occurred since a month ago in the region. The blackout was reportedly caused by a damaged power plant belonged to state-owned electricity firm PLN.

“This disturbing condition has happened for a month. We are experiencing rolling blackouts for the past month,” Zhany Rhenfand, a resident of Agats, told Tempo, Wednesday, December 11.

According to Zhany, Asmat communities had never heard any clarification from PLN regarding the outage. They were only acknowledged it was because of the damaged power plant that was still being repaired to date. 

“We don’t know what is the cause because there is no official notification issued by PLN or regional government,” he said.

Meanwhile, a businessman Ronald said due to the blackout, his company incurred huge losses. He also feared his production equipment could be malfunction because of unstable electricity supply. “We face losses because of work delays. My studio requires good electricity supply,” he said.

Ronald also seconded Zhany’s statement that there was no official statement from PLN about the outage in Asmat. He hoped PLN could prioritize the restoration of the power plant to supply electricity for the region as normal, especially ahead of Christmas Day.

Tempo tried to contact PLN's Vice President of Public Relations, Dwi Suryo Abdullah, for confirmation about the power outage in Asmat, Papua. However, Tempo’s messages and phone calls have not been responded yet as of the time of this writing.

EKO WAHYUDI