"The financial losses incurred by MRT Jakarta from PLN’s power cut is expected to reach Rp507 million as of August 4, 2019," Corporate Secretary of PT MRT Muhamad Kamaludin noted in a statement here on Tuesday.
The losses took into account a decline in the number of passengers, reaching 52,898 on that day.
"Another impact of the blackout was a decline in the number of passengers on Monday that reached 16.43 percent, over fears of a recurrence in power outage," he stated.
Kamaludin has expressed hope that the decline in passengers would only be a transitory occurrence, and problems in electrical supply would not recur in future.
"PT MRT Jakarta has improved its standard procedure for passenger evacuation in emergency situations as a precautionary measure against problems in power supply from PLN and ensure that the evacuation will run well and safely. It puts focus on the aspects of reliability, safety, and security in its service to the public," Kamaludin stated.
The blackout that hit Jakarta, West Java, Banten, and parts of Central Java on Sunday halted MRT operations from 11:50 a.m. to 8 p.m. local time.
MRT has relied on power supply from PLN's two 150-kV subsystems: the Gandul-Muara Karang subsystem that was channeled through the Pondok Indah substation and Cawang-Bekasi subsystem channeled through the CSW substation.
The company has yet to build its third subsystem of a gas-machine power plant in Jakarta.
"However, MRT Jakarta has a backup power system that will only supply electricity for safety and evacuation at stations and in the tunnel. The backup power has functioned well, and the evacuation of passengers could be conducted safely," he added.
"A total of 3,410 passengers were evacuated from 13 MRT stations, and all are safe and in good condition," he confirmed. Related news: PLN apologize for blackout in Greater Jakarta
Related news: Cause of major blackout remains under police investigation
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Translator: Ricky Prayoga, Sri Haryati
Editor: Suharto
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