Several tall trees caused the massive power outage that affected tens of millions on the island of Java in Indonesia on Sunday, if the police’s preliminary findings from their investigation into the blackout are to be believed.
On Sunday, not long after the power went out in Jakarta and the neighboring provinces of West Java and Banten just before noon, officials from state power utility PLN based in Central Java received reports of a power overload at the Ungaran electrical relay station situated in the Gunungpati district of Semarang regency. A police inspection at the site led to the preliminary conclusion that the overload was caused by trees that had grown too tall and came in contact with power lines.
“The damage was caused by trees with heights exceeding the ROW (right of way for power lines) causing an electrical flash and the sound of an explosion,” Central Java Police spokesman Agus Triatmaja told reporters yesterday evening, as quoted by Detik.
Agus explained that the ROW requires that no object near power lines exceed a height of 8.5 meters in order to prevent contact with the cables. Several trees that exceeded the ROW and are believed to have triggered the power overload at the relay station have been cut down, and police have put up a police line around the site.
“The blackout in Jakarta, Banten, West Java and parts of Central Java was caused by damage to the 500 kVA transmission towers 434-435 in Malon Village, Gunungpati,” Agus added.
Two locals who were at the site were reportedly injured during the electrical explosion and are currently receiving medical treatment.
Before the Central Java Police released their preliminary findings, rumors that the trees caused the blackout had already been going around on social media. PLN dismissed those rumors as a “hoax”, but the state utility firm has yet to comment on the Central Java Police’s statement.
Previously, PLN blamed the massive outage on disruptions at several major power plants in Java. The blackout affected around 30 million people living in the Greater Jakarta Area and tens of millions more in the Western half of Java.
The power outage occurred just before noon on Sunday and power was restored in most parts of the capital around 12 hours after that. During that time, there were numerous disruptions to public services, such as Jakarta’s electric-powered MRT, as well as sporadic disruptions in cell phone coverage. Residents flocked to and crowded many of the capital’s malls, which were among the few businesses that had back up generators and were able to operate normally.
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