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🇮🇩 Indonesia /Energy & Infrastructure

INDEF: Gradual Recovery is Key to Restoring Interconnected System Blackout

From Republika · () Indonesian

Translated from Indonesian, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • The recovery process for Sumatra's interconnected power system after a major disruption follows global patterns of gradual, careful, and measured steps.
  • Global experiences show that modern interconnected systems can quickly cascade into failures if frequency drops and supply-demand balance is disturbed.
  • The recovery phase is often the most critical, requiring operators to maintain system stability to prevent further blackouts.

The ongoing recovery of Sumatra's interconnected power system after a recent disruption is mirroring established global practices for handling large-scale blackouts. Experts emphasize a phased approach, prioritizing system stability through gradual, cautious, and measured steps. This strategy aligns with how major power grid failures are managed worldwide.

The recovery process for the electricity system in Sumatra after an interconnection disturbance is assessed to have a similar handling pattern to various major blackout cases worldwide, prioritizing system stability through a phased recovery process that is gradual, careful, and measured.

— Abra TalattovDescribing the recovery strategy for Sumatra's power system.

Abra Talattov, Head of INDEF's Center of Food, Energy and Sustainable Development, noted that interconnected modern power systems are vulnerable to rapid cascading failures. Such events can be triggered when system frequency declines, disrupting the balance between power supply and demand. He cited historical blackouts in the United States, India, Spain, the United Kingdom, and South Australia as examples where transmission issues or interconnection instability led to widespread outages.

Talattov highlighted that the recovery process itself presents the most significant challenge. Grid operators must meticulously manage frequency, voltage, and the synchronization of power generation units. The goal is to ensure that the gradually recovering system does not collapse again. He referenced the 2003 North American blackout, which escalated into a systemic failure affecting over 100 power plants, and the 2012 Indian blackout, where inter-regional load imbalances exacerbated the issue.

In large interconnected systems, the heaviest challenges usually arise during the recovery process. Operators must ensure that frequency, voltage, and synchronization between power plants remain stable so that the system, which is beginning to recover, does not fall again.

— Abra TalattovExplaining the critical nature of the recovery phase in power grid management.

Similar recovery patterns were observed in Spain and Portugal in 2025, where gradual restoration efforts were crucial to stabilize the system after voltage surges caused extensive blackouts. Pakistan and Turkey also employed careful synchronization of power plants to prevent further disruptions during grid restoration. Talattov stressed that mistakes in synchronization during the recovery phase can lead to subsequent failures or even a secondary blackout, underscoring the need for extreme caution by operators.

If synchronization is done too quickly while the system is not yet stable, the plant can trip again and trigger further disturbances. Therefore, operators are usually very careful during the recovery process.

— Abra TalattovDetailing the risks associated with rapid synchronization during power system recovery.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Republika in Indonesian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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