Bandung Faces Rising Power Outages Amid Extreme El Niño Conditions

Residents of Bandung are growing increasingly frustrated with the rising frequency of rolling power outages occurring without adequate advance notice, disrupting household activities and small businesses that depend on reliable electricity supply. Among those affected are home-based entrepreneurs who struggle to prepare for sudden blackouts, and workers concerned about equipment damage and uncomfortable indoor conditions when air conditioning systems fail during outages.

Experts from ITB's School of Electrical Engineering and Informatics attribute the power crisis to extreme El Niño conditions—referred to colloquially as the "Godzilla" El Niño—which simultaneously increases electricity demand and reduces generation capacity. The extreme heat drives massive air-conditioning usage across residential, commercial, and industrial sectors, significantly raising overall power consumption. At the same time, prolonged dry season conditions caused by El Niño reduce water flow in rivers and reservoirs, directly limiting output from hydroelectric power plants (PLTA), including major facilities such as Cirata and Saguling in West Java.

This dual pressure—surging demand combined with constrained supply—creates severe strain on the regional power grid. Dr. Kevin Marojahan Banjar Nahor, a power systems expert at ITB, emphasized that the impact cannot be underestimated, as the imbalance between electricity supply and demand threatens grid stability, particularly as the dry season intensifies. Residents and small business owners are calling for better communication and advance notice of outages to allow time to prepare and protect perishable goods and sensitive equipment.

The situation has prompted broader calls for action from authorities and the state electricity company (PLN) to implement anticipatory measures and diversify energy sources. Experts stress the need for early intervention to prevent the dry season from reaching peak conditions with an even more strained power system. Better preparation and a more balanced energy portfolio are seen as essential to maintaining stable electricity supply during this critical period.