Naypyidaw Experiences Electricity Shortage

By Aung Thet Wine

Naypyidaw, the capital of Burma, which has always received normal electricity service, is now facing a shortage of electricity, said a government official.

Most of the government ministries in Nepyidaw, since mid-May, have been facing electricity shortages.

General view of the construction site of Burma's new parliament building in Naypyidaw in March. (Photo: Getty Images)

Rangoon, Mandalay and other major cities are facing the worst shortages of electricity, said an official at the Myanmar Electric Power Enterprise (MEPE).

The official said, “Even in the ministry offices, the power supply went off. I've been working here since we moved from Rangoon in 2006. I've never seen an electricity shortage here.”

In Rangoon and Mandalay, electricity is scarce to non-existent, with many people receiving only one to three hours service a day. Pegu, Sagaing, Magwe divisions and other areas are experiencing a total halt in electricity, according to sources.

In Mandalay located in the middle of the country, electricity frequently appears for only one hour a day. Zaygyo, the city's well-known market, has had no electricity for several days, said a resident.

According to sources in Rangoon, all traffic lights, schools, and even government hospitals are frequently without any electricity service.

Apparently, the government is alternating limited service on a rotation basis in many areas.

“Every ward in a neighborhood gets electricity for an hour to pump water,” said an engineer at the MEPE Rangoon office.

Officials at the Ministry of Electric Power-2 said that the electricity shortage is due to a natural gas pipeline leak, problems with hydro-electric generators and low-water levels in reservoirs.

The Ministry of Electric Power-2 is responsible for distributing electricity, and the Ministry of Electric Power-1 manages power plants. The pipeline leak occurred near Mudon Township in Mon State, according to sources.

“Another problem is that Chinese-made hydro-electric generators are always breaking and sometimes there’s not a sufficient amount of water to run the generators,” an official at the Ministry of Electric Power-2 said.

In Pegu Division, electricity has been completely cutoff for days, and local people in almost all townships have turned to rented diesel generators in order to pump water for daily use, said one source.

“We are renting the diesel engines to pump out water and when raining, we collected rainwater. We haven’t had electricity for nearly one month,” said a resident in Oatpho Township.

Reference:

This is from the Irrawaddy by the author Aung Thet Wine.

My opinion:

What do you think? Is this bad news that Burma is facing disasters or good news that the place where the junta lives does not also have electricity?