MDY gov. red-faced over power cuts

MDY gov. red-faced over power cuts

By Phyo Wai Kyaw and Si Thu Lwin and Than Naing Soe   |   Monday, 01 July 2013

Sparks are flying in Mandalay as residents complain about the city's on-off electricity supply. On June 14, the state-owned daily newspaper Mandalay informed its readers that power would be available 24 hours a day starting a few days later. But just five days later, rotating power cuts – four hour on, four hours off – were announced.

A primary school student does homework by candlelight during a power blackout in Mandalay on June 24. (Phyo Wai Kyaw/The Myanmar Times)

Then, on June 26, the regional electricity minister, U Myint Kyu, announced that the supply would resume full-time from the end of June.

It was unclear why the power supply had dropped off at a time when the country's hydropower dams are replenishing, which should allow them to improve output following the annual lull during the hot season.

"After we made the initial announcement that supplies would improve, circumstances forced us to change it. We will supply as much as we can," said an official from the regional power supply enterprise, who asked not to be named.

Residents and business owners expressed frustration at the unpredictability of the electricity supply in Mandalay – and the customer service of the regional power office.

"We can't complete routine tasks," said Daw Sann, a housewife from Thinbawtan ward in Aung Myay Thar San township.

Company clerk U Htin Linn from Maha Aung Myay township said that even when the power was on the voltage was inadequate.

"The power is only about 80-90 volts. When we call to complain, nobody picks up the phone," he said.

U Ye Win Aung, who owns a spare parts business in Mandalay's industrial zone, said his company received just two hours of electricity a day – and even during those two hours it often cut out.

He said businesses also had to cover the costs of installing electricity infrastructure.

"All transformers and electric cables in the industrial zone were provided by the business community. It's time Myanma Electrical Enterprise finally accepted its responsibilities. They should also provide electricity at rates comparable to those of neighbouring countries," he said.

Union Minister for Electric Power U Khin Maung Soe told a workshop in Nay Pyi Taw last month that only 30 percent of Myanmar households received electricity as of April. In Mandalay Region, 37pc of homes are electrified, less than half of the 75pc in Yangon Region.

Source: http://www.news.myanmaronlinecentre.com/2013/07/02/mdy-gov-red-faced-over-power-cuts/