Agam Fires Again, West Sumatra's Electricity System Recovers Post-Disaster

PLN officers distributed materials for repairing the electricity network via land to the point affected by the West Sumatra disaster in Palembayan, Agam. This transportation process was carried out after the opening of access to the location which had previously been cut off. (IST)

PT PLN (Persero) managed to restore the West Sumatra electricity system after the flood and landslide disaster that occurred at the end of November. Thanks to the hard work of the team in the field, the electricity in the West Sumatra region recovered 100% after Agam Regency as the last affected area was successfully turned on on on Friday (5/12) at 17:53 WIB.

The Governor of West Sumatra, Mahyeldi Ansharullah expressed his appreciation for PLN's quick steps and cross-sectoral collaboration in electricity restoration in various areas affected by the disaster. With the recovery of electricity in West Sumatra, community activities slowly return to normal.

"We appreciate the dedication of PLN officers and all parties who work relentlessly to restore electricity in areas affected by floods and landslides, even though the terrain is very heavy. God willing, electricity can be enjoyed by the community and activities can run as usual," said Mahyeldi.

Police personnel work hand in hand to transport electric poles in the midst of difficult terrain to locations affected by floods and landslides in the Sicincin area, Padang Pariaman, West Sumatra. (IST)

PLN President Director, Darmawan Prasodjo, emphasized that the presence of electricity is a basic need for affected communities. So, from the start his party was all out to complete the post-disaster electricity recovery process in the West Sumatra region.

"According to Government directives, through the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (Energy and Mineral Resources), Mr. Bahlil Lahadia, all personnel work 24 hours fully in the field to ensure all affected points get their electricity supply back. Alhamdulillah, currently the electricity supply of West Sumatra has recovered 100%. Hopefully this will make it easier for the community to carry out their activities and optimize public services," he said.

Darmawan also said that the rapid recovery carried out could not be separated from the close collaboration of various parties. According to him, the synergy of the Regional Government, TNI, Polri, and the community is very crucial in the process of normalizing West Sumatra electricity.

"We witnessed how the spirit of gotong royong really lived. The local government, the TNI, Polri, the community, and the PLN team moved as one body. This is a humanitarian mission to restore light after the disaster in West Sumatra," he said.

Meanwhile, General Manager of PLN West Sumatra's Main Distribution Unit (UID), Ajrun Karim said, the recovery process in various affected locations, such as Agam, West Pasaman, Padang Pariaman, Dharmasraya, Sawah Lunto, East Pasaman, Solok, Pesisir Selatan, Padang Panjang, South Solok, and Padang City, had major challenges. According to him, the handling requires complex technical steps due to the disconnection of access to a number of medium-voltage electricity networks (JTM), low-voltage networks (JTR) and affected distribution substations.

"Our officers together with the TNI, Polri, and the community penetrate a steep path, carry heavy equipment manually, and work until late at night because access to location points can only be passed on foot," said Ajrun.

He continued, to restore the electrical condition of West Sumatra, his party rebuilt several power grid poles and distribution transformer substations in a number of affected areas.

"In this recovery, PLN managed to install 619 JTM and JTR poles, as well as 30.95 kilometers of replacement electric cable circuits (kms) to ensure that electricity supply for the community returns to normal," he concluded.

PLN officers distributed materials for repairing the electricity network via land to the point affected by the West Sumatra disaster in Palembayan, Agam. This transportation process was carried out after the opening of access to the location, which had previously been cut off.

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It appears that the National Police personnel are working hand in hand to transport electric poles in the middle of a difficult terrain towards locations affected by floods and landslides in the Sicincin area, Padang Pariaman, West Sumatra. The distribution of materials manually is carried out to speed up the electrical recovery process when access to the location is still cut off and cannot be passed by vehicle.