(AFP article from the FRANCE-24 on 02February 2025.)
Seeking light in dark times four years after
Myanmar coup: Power outages are common in his township, a result of rolling
blackouts scheduled by the junta government as it battles for control of areas
seized by rebel groups.
Aung Bo Bo, another Yangon resident, bemoaned the
power cut timetable that can see houses plunged into darkness 12 hours a day. He
has to wake up at midnight to cook and pump water when the electricity comes
on, he told AFP. "We're getting no sleep," he said.
Yin Kay Thwe, an office worker in Yangon, said the situation is especially difficult for families with children. It would be better for power cuts to happen during office hours, she told AFP, not in the evenings until past midnight. "How can we live with that?" she said.
'Struggling' daily
Myanmar is mired in a civil war that has killed
thousands, triggered when the military ousted the elected civilian government
of democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi four years ago Saturday. The junta has
blamed the worsening power outages on rising gas prices and attacks on
infrastructure by anti-coup fighters
The
Southeast Asian nation has oil, gas and coal reserves as well as strong
hydroelectric and solar potential, but is crippled by political instability,
investor flight, poor policy and a lack of infrastructure.
A Ministry of Electric Power report from January
said that of the 7,000 megawatts (MW) of daily installed capacity, in normal
times the power system could distribute around 4,000 MW. Average daily
electricity production has plummeted to 2,200 MW, it said, with only half of
that being distributed.
Around a third of firms surveyed by the World Bank
in April last year reported power outages as their primary challenge, up from
12 percent in September 2023. Only 48 percent of the population had access to
electricity in late 2024, according to the UN -- the lowest rate in Asia.
And the crisis is having a major impact on both the
economy and civilians' well-being. "We can't cook with charcoal or wood in
Yangon's small rooms. So we only rely on gas for cooking but... we also face
gas shortages," Yin Kay Thwe said. "We are struggling with cooking
everyday."
'Energy from nature'
The uncertain outlook has seen a surge in the use
of alternative energy sources, particularly solar -- much of which comes from
Myanmar's northern neighbour, China, the world's top producer of the renewable.
"Long-term solutions are being explored
through renewable energy sources such as hydropower, solar, and wind, in
alignment with the country's natural resources," the Ministry of Electric
Power's report said. A World Bank report found that 17 percent of Myanmar firms
surveyed had invested in off-grid solar power. The uncertain outlook in Myanmar
has seen a surge in the use of alternative energy sources, particularly solar
Zaw Htay Aung, the director of Sun Solar Myanmar
Company, said he has seen a rise in the number of households installing solar
panels as electricity and fuel shortages bite. "People follow the solar
energy trend these days because solar is more convenient to solve electricity
shortages in Myanmar," he told AFP, adding that home solar panels can be
installed from around $570.
Resident Aung Kyo Gyi encourages others to switch
to solar power to make it through the dark times. "It's not noisy and we
use the energy from nature," he said. "Perhaps solar panels are
expensive than others at first but it's way better for long term."
