JAKARTA -- Hundreds of thousands of people in
                 Jakarta and Tangerang were affected by an electricity
                 failure on Monday.

                 The loss suffered by customers of state-electricity firm
                 PT PLN during the four-hour blackout could reach
                 billions of rupiah.

                 There was heavy congestion in the capital's main
                 streets when traffic lights stopped working.

                 Owners of air-conditioned shops as well as
                 businesses that rely on electricity, such as petrol
                 stations, closed temporarily.

                 Internet Service Providers were out of action too.

                 A PLN spokesman said the failure was caused by
                 residents in south Jakarta, who chopped down
                 coconut trees, causing a short circuit. -- The Jakarta
                 Post/Asia News Network

                       Adapted from The Straits Times,