Prabowo Orders PLN Review After Batam Blackout, With Compensation and 100 GW Solar Plan in Focus

A power failure puts PLN's business and emergency plans under review

A blackout that began at 06:37 WIB on October 12, 2026, disrupted electricity across Batam and Bintan, with PLN Batam initially recording 411,219 affected customers. Two days later, President Prabowo Subianto ordered Danantara Indonesia to assess the state electricity company's business model and accelerate its transformation, while also discussing plans to deploy 100 gigawatts of solar capacity.

The instruction followed a meeting at the Presidential Palace complex in Jakarta on October 14. Danantara chief executive Rosan Roeslani said his team would work with PT PLN (Persero) to prepare an assessment and proposals for the president. The stated goals are better efficiency, greater productivity and a smaller subsidy burden.

PLN director of project management and new renewable energy Suroso Isnandar said electricity in Batam had been restored completely by October 14, while recovery continued in parts of Bintan. PLN Batam also promised automatic bill compensation for eligible customers whose outages exceeded agreed service standards.

The incident has brought three connected issues into focus: the equipment failure that interrupted supply, the company's ability to restore service during an emergency, and the way it plans electricity provision as demand grows. Batam's expanding data centre industry was among the sectors affected, according to PLN Batam communications manager Yoga Perdana Sulastama.

How the blackout and recovery unfolded

PLN Batam identified Sungai Harapan substation as the location of the initial suspected disturbance. A substation is a point in the electricity network where voltage is adjusted and power is directed onward. A failure there can interrupt supply across a much wider area than the site itself.

The recovery took place in stages, with different updates describing progress across customers, power demand and network equipment:

• October 12, 06:37 WIB: A system disturbance began, causing widespread outages in Batam and Bintan.
• October 12, around 18:00 WIB: Residents in some Batam neighbourhoods said electricity had begun returning.
• October 12, 22:45 WIB: PLN Batam recorded 228,480 customers restored and 182,739 still without electricity.
• October 13, 04:00 WIB: PLN Batam said 98% of customers and 99% of interrupted electricity demand had been restored, with Batam's substations and transmission system fully operational.
• October 13, 05:00 WIB: A further update listed 5,127 customers still without electricity and one distribution feeder under repair.
• October 14: Suroso said Batam's supply was restored completely, with recovery continuing in parts of Bintan. Prabowo instructed Danantara to prepare PLN transformation proposals.

PLN Batam company secretary Rudi Antono said technical teams checked and restored generating units, brought them into synchronisation, and then restored transmission and distribution networks. Synchronisation means making generating units operate together at the same electrical frequency so they can safely supply a shared network.

Transmission carries large amounts of electricity across the system, while distribution delivers it to individual areas and customers. Restoring major network equipment therefore preceded the final work needed to reconnect some neighbourhoods.

What the recovery figures show

PLN Batam's October 12 update at 22:45 WIB showed that 55.6% of the initially listed 411,219 affected customers had regained electricity. The restored share of interrupted power demand was lower, at 40.3%: 233.2 megawatts out of 578.2 megawatts. Another 345 megawatts remained disconnected.

The gap of 15.3 percentage points between customer recovery and demand recovery helps explain why a single percentage gives an incomplete picture. Customer counts measure connections, while megawatts measure how much power those connections use. A large industrial customer can require much more electricity than a household.

PLN Batam also recorded 11 of 15 affected substations and 12 of 18 affected transmission units restored that night. That put equipment recovery at 73.3% for substations and 66.7% for transmission units.

The company's update for 05:00 WIB on October 13 used different totals, listing 411,219 customers restored, or 98.8%, with 5,127 still disconnected, and 496.7 megawatts restored out of 501.8 megawatts affected. Those figures place 411,219 as the restored customer count rather than the earlier total affected count, and use a smaller total interrupted load than the earlier 578.2 megawatts. PLN had not explained the changed totals.

Investigators examine equipment, lightning and an animal intrusion

Suroso said an equipment disturbance caused the blackout and identified a transformer as a focus of the technical evaluation. A transformer changes voltage so electricity can move through different parts of the network and reach customers at a usable level.

Rudi said early indications pointed to a wild animal entering Sungai Harapan substation and disturbing electrical installations. PLN's technical team and the relevant authorities were still tracing the precise cause.

Bahlil Lahadalia, the coordinating minister for downstreaming and energy transition who also serves as energy and mineral resources minister, described suspected network problems involving lightning and technical errors after the October 14 palace meeting. He also mentioned a possible bat or another animal coming into contact with electrical infrastructure.

Bahlil's description remained tentative. He did not give a detailed sequence connecting lightning, the possible animal intrusion and the transformer disturbance. PLN's investigation must establish that sequence so repairs and preventive measures address the actual failure.

Bahlil said electricity networks in several regions needed more intensive improvements. He placed the operational examination with PLN, whose teams manage the equipment and understand conditions in the field.

Danantara must prepare a new business proposal

Prabowo's instruction extends beyond repairing the Batam system. Rosan said Danantara, Indonesia's sovereign wealth fund, would work with PLN to assess the company's operations and formulate proposals, particularly on its business model.

A business model describes how a company organises its services, spending and income. For PLN, the review concerns how electricity provision can become more efficient while the company improves its response to customers and emergencies.

Rosan, speaking as Danantara's chief executive after the palace meeting, described the president's request:

We were asked to conduct an assessment and then submit a proposal to the President,

Rosan said the intended changes should improve efficiency and productivity while reducing the subsidy burden. In simple terms, the government wants PLN to provide better service with fewer avoidable costs and less pressure on public funds.

The president asked for the proposed business model to be presented promptly. No submission date, estimate of subsidy savings or detailed restructuring package was announced. The immediate task is therefore an assessment and recommendation, followed by presidential consideration.

Existing backup plans need strengthening

Rosan said PLN already had contingency arrangements for blackouts, but those arrangements needed refinement. His request applies across Indonesia, rather than only to Batam and Bintan.

As Danantara chief executive, Rosan described the status of those plans:

We certainly have these in place, but they need to be refined,

PLN's backup plan is the set of arrangements used when normal supply fails. The Batam recovery shows why it involves more than generating electricity: teams must inspect equipment, restore network connections and bring customers back onto the system safely.

Rudi said technical and operational personnel remained on standby after supply returned to monitor stability and reliability. Restoring electricity was followed by continued checks on whether the system could keep operating normally.

The nationwide review and Batam's local evaluation serve related purposes. The local investigation examines the disturbance and affected equipment, while Danantara's assessment considers how PLN prepares for and manages such events across its operations.

Who qualifies for automatic compensation?

PLN Batam said compensation would apply when the outage exceeded its agreed service quality standards or service level agreement. These are the standards or contractual promises governing the electricity service a customer should receive.

Rudi said compensation would be applied automatically to the next electricity bill, without customers having to submit a claim. PLN Batam cited Riau Islands Governor Regulation No. 22 of 2017 for the compensation arrangements.

• Regular customers: Compensation of 10% of the monthly fixed charge.
• Customers with special reliability services: Compensation of 15% to 25% of electricity usage charges, depending on the contracted service.
• Eligibility: The interruption must exceed the applicable service quality standard or agreed service level.
• Payment method: An automatic adjustment through the following electricity bill.

The two percentages apply to different parts of the bill. For regular customers, PLN Batam described a calculation based on the monthly fixed charge. For customers with special reliability contracts, it described a calculation based on electricity consumption charges, known as Rupiah Pemakaian Tenaga Listrik.

Suroso said PLN's immediate priority had been recovery and that a compensation review would follow. Bahlil also said he would discuss implementation with PLN. Those operational discussions were taking place alongside PLN Batam's stated commitment to automatic compensation under the applicable rules.

Households and data centres both felt the disruption

Batam residents described disruption beyond the loss of lighting and electrical appliances. Abidin, a resident of Batu Aji, said electricity had returned in his area while clean water supply remained stopped. Ilham, in Tiban, similarly said water had not resumed by the evening even after power returned.

Their accounts show that restoring electricity did not immediately restore every household service. Residents wanted both stable power and normal water supply so daily activities could resume.

Yoga confirmed that data centre customers were also affected. These facilities house computer equipment used to store information and run digital services, making dependable electricity a central requirement of their operations.

Batam has about 20 data centres, placing it second to Jakarta in Indonesia by concentration of facilities. Its proximity to Singapore, available land and international submarine cable connections have drawn developers seeking space for large computing projects.

The developments include DayOne's planned campus in Kabil, with capacity of up to 511 megavolt amperes, NeutraDC Nxera Batam at 100 megawatts, and the Nvidia DSX AI Factory project involving Australia's Firmus Technologies at 360 megawatts. Megawatts measure usable power, while megavolt amperes describe another electrical capacity measure, so the project figures need to be read in their stated units.

Other projects include Golden Digital Gateway, operated by Gaw Capital Partners and Sinar Primera, and developments involving GDS Holdings, Princeton Digital Group and BW Digital. Equator Gate System Batam has also described a US$5 billion investment in a 30 hectare artificial intelligence data centre cluster at Teluk Mata Ikan.

Local supply upgrades and the national solar plan

PLN Batam plans to improve electricity provision to data centres through supply from two substations, regular network maintenance and additional generating capacity. Two supply connections provide another route for delivering electricity if one connection becomes unavailable.

The company has presented those measures as steps to prevent repeat disruption and improve service reliability. The blackout has made the connection between Batam's investment ambitions and the performance of its electricity network more immediate: new computing facilities bring substantial power requirements alongside existing household and industrial demand.

Prabowo's October 14 meeting also addressed the deployment of 100 gigawatts of solar panels. Rosan connected that discussion with the broader effort to make PLN faster and more responsive.

Rosan, explaining the scope of the meeting in his role as Danantara chief executive, said:

The point is, how to accelerate the transformation at PLN to become better, faster, and more responsive, and also accelerate the implementation of 100 gigawatts of solar panels,

One gigawatt equals 1,000 megawatts, making the discussed solar capacity 100,000 megawatts. Capacity describes the rated scale of generating equipment; solar production varies with sunlight. PLN's network planning must connect that electricity to customers while maintaining dependable supply.

The solar discussion, business review and emergency planning now sit within the same presidential instruction. For Batam, the practical priorities are completing the technical investigation, delivering eligible bill adjustments and carrying out the proposed supply improvements. For Danantara and PLN, the next step is turning the assessment into proposals the president can act on.

Key Points

• The blackout began on October 12, 2026, at 06:37 WIB and initially affected 411,219 customers across Batam and Bintan, according to PLN Batam.
• Prabowo instructed Danantara on October 14 to assess PLN's business model and prepare transformation proposals.
• PLN said Batam's electricity was fully restored by October 14, while recovery continued in parts of Bintan.
• The precise cause remained under investigation, with equipment problems, lightning and a possible animal intrusion under examination.
• Eligible regular customers are to receive compensation of 10% of the monthly fixed charge; special reliability customers may receive 15% to 25% of usage charges.
• PLN Batam promised automatic compensation through the next bill and plans supply from two substations, maintenance and more generation for data centre customers.
• The palace meeting also covered accelerating deployment of 100 gigawatts of solar capacity.