Inp.polri.go.id - Pekanbaru. State electricity company PT PLN (Persero) confirmed a total blackout across Central and Northern Sumatra following a system disruption at 6.45 pmB on Friday (22/5/2026).

“Info at 6.44 pm shows the North and Central Sumatra systems separated, with North Sumatra completely down. Load data is still being collected,” said I Komang Gede Sastrawan, the Communications Manager of PLN’s Riau and Riau Islands Distribution Unit, as reported by antaranews.com.

PLN has deployed technical teams to inspect the network and identify the cause of the outage. The company urged residents to remain calm, promising regular updates through the PLN Mobile app and Contact Center 123.

In Pekanbaru, traffic lights stopped functioning, causing congestion, while residents reported discomfort due to the blackout during hot evening weather. PLN confirmed the outage has spread widely across affected regions.

(mg/inp/pr/rs)