Jakarta (ANTARA) – Deputy Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Yuliot has urged the state-owned electric utility company PT PLN to balance the power supply across regions preventing a recurrence of the “Sumatera blackout”.”There should be power plant in every region. We should not have too many areas relying on electricity supplied from regions that are quite far away, such as from southern to the north (like in Sumatera),” he told the press at the parliament area in Jakarta on Monday.Yuliot noted such heavy reliance on distant power sources was precisely the reason why restoring the electrical grid in Sumatera took much time. In addition, he urged the company to conduct a technical study to improve the system.”The system must also be improved, including installing grounding systems in vulnerable areas,” he added.Grounding is a safety system in electrical installations that connects the metal components of electronic equipment to the earth. Its function is to divert leakage current or excess voltage directly into the ground, thereby preventing risks, such as electric shock, short circuits, and fires.”So, in the next move, we will evaluate all the repairs that have been carried out,” Yuliot said.On a separate occasion, Director of Transmission at the PLN, Edwin Nugraha Putra, at the Criminal Investigation Unit of the Indonesian National Police (Bareskrim Polri) explained that a power swing phenomenon occurred in Sumatera’s power grid triggered by heavy rain, lightning, and strong winds.Such conditions caused disruptions to the 275 kV New Aur Duri transmission line in Muaro Jambi District, Jambi, and the stability of electrical system across Sumatera was disrupted as well.The power swing phenomenon was immediately followed by a power cut-off implemented as a safety mechanism, which ultimately triggered blackouts across various regions in Sumatera.”There were no blackouts in Lampung and most parts of Palembang. However, our customers in Jambi, Riau, West Sumatera, North Sumatera, and Aceh experienced power outages,” Putra remarked.PLN then conducted a physical inspection for any damage before restoring normalcy to the transmission system. As of Sunday (May, 24) at 06:00 a.m., 176 affected substations had been restored, allowing power supply to customers to be gradually recovered.