•    HOME   
•    NEWS   
•    BUSINESS   
•    INTERNATIONAL   
•    TECH   
•    SPORTS   
•    LIFE & TIMES   
•    OPINION   
•    MY JAKARTA   
•    BLOGS   
•    EYEWITNESS   

Jakarta. Although the state electricity company had pledged to upgrade Soekarno-Hatta International Airport’s power network to prevent outages, there apparently is another threat to consider — falling trees.

Indonesia’s main air gateway was again plunged into darkness for about five minutes on Friday after a tree apparently fell and put the transmission network out of action.

Purnomo Willy, the general manager of Perusahaan Listrik Negara for the Jakarta and Tangerang area, said the incident caused a 25-minute disruption in power supply, but the airport generators immediately kicked in.

“The transmission failure affected the Cengkareng and Tangerang areas, however, as of 1 p.m. everything was already back to normal,” he said.

This blackout did not cause as massive a disruption as a 1.7-second power glitch in early August, which created hours of chaos and delayed 62 flights.

Officials said that once the airport generators took over, all flight and terminal operations proceeded normally.

“This includes facilities such as X-rays, screening checkpoints, check-in counters, conveyors in departures and arrivals, lighting at the terminal, baggage claims, public TV, lifts and escalators,” said Tri Sumoko, director of airport operator Angkasa Pura II.

“Flights were delayed for 10 minutes, because the power was out only for five minutes,” said Edward Sirait, general director of Lion Air. “I think Angkasa Pura II have done their best.”

Purnomo said state utility was assisting the airport operator in evaluating Soekarno-Hatta’s electricity installations.

He said Angkasa Pura II and PLN would improve the airport’s electrical system by installing additional backup generators for other facilities.

In the wake of the embarrassing August power outage, PLN offered to build an upgraded electrical system for Angkasa Pura II. Dahlan Iskan, president director of PLN, said at the time that the company would treat the airport as a vital, strategic and sensitive objective.

To prevent future outages, Dahlan said the new system would protect the airport’s electrical supply by connecting it to three relay stations.

“We will also prepare a designated power plant for the airport that will automatically backup its electricity supply in case all three relay stations unexpectedly malfunction,” Dahlan said.

As a final precaution, PLN would install an uninterruptible power supply as a contingency if the first two systems failed.