- Bali currently has no power on the island
- Submarine cables have been disrupted
The entire island of Bali in Indonesia has been hit by a blackout that might take more than a day for authorities to fix.
Power outages impacted thousands of homes, businesses and resorts across the tourist hotspot around 4pm local time on Friday.
PT. PLN, an electricity company tasked with ensuring energy to Bali, has said it is investigating the source of the power outages.
A spokesperson from the organisation said submarine cables connecting Denpasar to the mainland had been disrupted but that it is still looking into the matter.
‘This problem is still being investigated,’ they said in a statement, reports Detik Bali.
Bali is fed approximately 25 per cent of its entire electricity supply via these underwater cables which connect to the island of Java.
PLN is currently trying to complete a system recovery before it can begin normalising its electrical output.
During this time of repair all power plants across Bali have been disconnected as a safety measure.
An island-wide blackout hit Bali, in Indonesia, around 4pm local time on Friday
Bali’s electric provider, PLN, confirmed that submarine cables which supply the island with power had been distrupted
Some locations throughout Denpasar have been able to temporarily survive off of backup power generators but it is still unclear how long it will take for power to return.
A local who talked to Daily Mail Australia, Putri, said she has been sweltering in the heat since her air conditioning stopped working amid the blackouts.
‘This is the first time I’ve ever known the entire island to face a blackout,’ she said.
‘And Bali is hot right now and nobody can turn on their air conditioning, many people can no longer work also.
‘Offices have had to close which has also caused chaos but hopefully it will not take long for the power to return.’
Putri said some beach resorts along Kuta that typically charge for entry had begun letting tourists in for free as they struggle to stay open amidst the blackout.
Traffic jams immediately broke out following the blackout and local police rushed to busy intersections to begin coordinating the built up traffic.
Locals have also begun flooding social media looking for answers about how long it will take for the island to recover.
Locals and holidaymakers alike immediately flooded to social media looking for answers regarding how long the blackout would last
However, it is currently unknown how long the problem will take to resolve
One person on social media began theorising how long the blackout would last based on historical data related to submarine cable failures.
‘System stabilisation usually requires 4-8 hours to complete and critical infrastructure can take another 6-10 hours to come back online following that,’ one wrote.
‘Then tourist areas and city centres become the priority but that can still take 8-12 hours and a complete restoration usually requires 12-36 hours.’
Others however, were more concerned that their weekend might be ruined as venues are forced to shut down.
‘Oh give me a break. Why is Bali experiencing a full blackout during the weekend,’ a holidaymaker wrote.
more to come
