Blackouts disrupt evening prayers

Ruslan Sangadji, The Jakarta Post, Palu

The voice of the imam leading the tarawih prayers at Lolu Grand Mosque in East Palu, Central Sulawesi, was sharp and clear on Sunday evening, when the mosque suddenly went black.
The loudspeakers went dead and the lights shut off, but the prayers continued. Power resumed around 30 minutes later, just as the prayers were finishing up. A number of worshipers wondered why the electricity went down during tarawih.

"They say that we already have an additional steam-powered power station, so why do blackouts still occur?" asked one worshiper, Abdul Aziz, 34.
Some criticized state power company PLN, accusing it of lacking respect for the Muslim community. "They should have notified us earlier, so the mosque workers could prepare the power generator to anticipate the blackout," said Lolu head caretaker Ivan Sidjaya. Some threatened a protest at the Palu PLN office if another blackout happened during tarawih.


Contacted Monday, the manager of the Palu PLN office, Yustono, said the Palu power station was experiencing a power deficit of 5 megawatts (MW) from its normal capacity of 13.5 MW.
He said this was the cause of the blackouts. "It is due to the sub-standard quality of the coal," said Yustono.

A second 13.5 MW capacity power station is expected to come online by the end of this year to meet the power demands of Palu city and surrounding areas. In addition, Palu has a 15 MW diesel-powered generating unit. The power station is jointly owned by the Palu municipality and Chinese investor PT Shandong, through its subsidiaries PT Pusaka Jaya International (Jakarta) and PT Pusaka Jaya (Palu), now called PT Pusaka Jaya Palu Power (PJPP).

The Palu municipality has a 5 percent stake in the joint venture, while PT Shandong has a 95 percent share. The project cost Rp 200 billion (US$22.2 million) and is built on 5 hectares of land in Mpanau subdistrict, North Palu district. The steam-powered generating station was launched by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in March. "The power station is expected to resolve the power crisis in the city," said Palu Mayor Rusdy Mastura.***