Puskepi Director Sofyano Zakaria said the strategy includes expanding 500-kilovolt (kV), 275-kV and 150-kV transmission networks outlined in Indonesia’s 2025-2034 Electricity Supply Business Plan (RUPTL).
“Strengthening Sumatra’s electricity backbone will create a more integrated grid system from Aceh to Lampung,” Zakaria said in a statement on Wednesday.
He added that fast-response power plants, upgraded protection systems and predictive digital maintenance are also needed to improve grid stability.
Zakaria said recent blackouts in Sumatra should be viewed in a broader context, noting that advanced economies have also experienced major power disruptions.
“Large-scale blackouts do not occur only in Indonesia,” he said.
He cited 2016 South Australia blackout, where extreme weather triggered cascading transmission failures across the electricity network.
The United Kingdom also suffered a major power disruption in 2019 that disrupted transportation systems and caused widespread outages, he added.
More recently, Spain and Portugal experienced large-scale electricity failures requiring gradual grid normalization efforts.
Zakaria said interconnected systems such as Sumatra’s grid remain vulnerable because transmission disruptions caused by extreme weather can rapidly spread across regions.
Under such conditions, grid protection and recovery measures must be executed carefully to prevent wider instability, he said.
“The key issue is how system handling and normalization are coordinated to restore stability as quickly as possible,” Zakaria said.
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Translator: Subagyo, Kenzu
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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