BALINEWSID.COM, JAKARTA– The Electricity for the Nation Volunteers (Relawan Listrik Untuk Negeri/Re-LUN) have described the leadership period of PT PLN (Persero) President Director Darmawan Prasodjo as the worst era for the Java-Bali electricity system in the past two decades.

The assessment was based on an analysis claimed to have been compiled from PLN annual reports, World Bank data, the House of Representatives’ Commission VII records, and independent audits released on June 16, 2026.

Re-LUN National Coordinator Teuku Yudhistira stated that electricity reliability between 2021 and 2026 had significantly deteriorated, marked by increasing power outage frequency and longer interruption durations.

“This is a fact that is difficult to deny, even though some parties acting as political supporters or defenders are attempting to dispute it. These findings are based on the investigation conducted by the Re-LUN Data and Special Report Team,” Yudhistira said in Jakarta on Thursday (June 18, 2026).

According to the report, electricity service quality is measured through two main indicators: SAIDI (System Average Interruption Duration Index), which measures the average duration of outages experienced by customers annually, and SAIFI (System Average Interruption Frequency Index), which records the frequency of disruptions per customer.

Re-LUN claimed that between 2006 and 2011, when PLN was led by Eddie Widiono, Fahmi Mochtar, and Dahlan Iskan, the Java-Bali electricity system remained highly reliable. During that period, SAIDI was recorded at around 120–240 minutes per customer annually, while SAIFI ranged from 1.2 to 1.8 interruptions per customer per year.

The report stated that conditions began to decline during the leadership of Nur Pamudji (2011–2014), with SAIDI increasing to 300–450 minutes annually and SAIFI reaching 2.2–3 disruptions per customer per year. However, no major system collapse occurred during that period.

A sharper decline was recorded during Sofyan Basir’s tenure as PLN President Director from 2014 to 2019. Re-LUN said SAIDI surged to 1,136 minutes per year, while SAIFI reached 11.5 interruptions per customer annually.

The period was also marked by the massive Java-Bali blackout on August 4, 2019, which paralyzed large parts of Java and Bali for approximately six to nine hours.

However, Re-LUN stated that electricity reliability improved during the leadership of Zulkifli Zaini from 2019 to 2021. SAIDI reportedly dropped again to around 400–500 minutes per year, with no major nationwide-scale system failure occurring during that period.

The organization claimed that conditions worsened again after Darmawan Prasodjo took over as PLN President Director at the end of 2021.

According to the report, SAIDI reached 1,450 minutes in 2025, equivalent to 24.2 hours of outages per customer annually — the highest figure recorded since 2006.

“This means that, on average, every customer experienced power outages for more than one full day within a year,” Yudhistira said.

Re-LUN also questioned differences in reported figures for 2024. The organization claimed PLN reported SAIDI at 910 minutes, while its independent audit found the figure reached 1,280 minutes, equivalent to 21.3 hours per year.

The report also highlighted several major power disruptions as indicators of declining system reliability.

In Bali, a total blackout lasting seven hours occurred in April 2022, affecting around 1.8 million customers. On May 2, 2025, Bali experienced another blackout lasting 11 hours, which Re-LUN described as the longest outage since 2005. Similar disruptions reportedly occurred again in February 2026.

Re-LUN further pointed to the return of scheduled power cuts in several parts of Java in June 2026. Planned outages lasting two to four hours per day were described as a phenomenon that had not widely occurred since 2008.

The organization attributed the situation to limited coal supply availability and insufficient additional power generation capacity amid rising national electricity demand.

Beyond energy supply issues, Re-LUN alleged that reduced maintenance budgets for power plants and electricity networks since 2022 had contributed to declining reliability.

The organization claimed maintenance budgets were cut by up to 35 percent, with some funds redirected toward digital transformation programs, including the Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) project.

“System reserve margins have fallen from the safe standard of 20–30 percent to below 15 percent. This condition makes the electricity system increasingly vulnerable to disruption,” Yudhistira said.

As of publication, PT PLN (Persero) management had not issued an official response regarding the allegations and findings presented by Re-LUN. The government and PLN have also not provided clarification regarding the organization’s claims of alleged data discrepancies.