Electricity supply to urban Arakan State expected to resume in June

By Admin 24 May 2023

DMG Newsroom
24 May 2023, Sittwe

The Arakan State electricity supply office says it is working to resume electricity supply to urban wards in Arakan State as electricity is out across Arakan State after utility poles were damaged by Cyclone Mocha, which hit Arakan State on May 14.

“So far, we have repaired around 50 percent of utility poles that were damaged by the cyclone. We expect to resume electricity supply to urban wards in June. It depends on availability of materials to resume electricity supply for the rest of Arakan State. We are doing our best,” said an official of the electricity supply office.  

Sub power stations and many electricity poles were damaged by the cyclone in Sittwe, Ponnagyun, Rathedaung, Kyauktaw, Mrauk-U, Minbya, Pauktaw, Myebon, Buthidaung, Maungdaw and Gwa townships. Five-hundred electricity staff from outside Arakan State are working to reinstall power lines.

Power outages are taking a heavy toll on local people and businesses affected by the cyclone.

Daw Than Than Aye, owner of Thein Than rice wholesaler, said: “We have rice mills, but we can’t operate them because there is no electricity. It can cause rice shortages in the market.”

Ma Khin Myo Nwe from Mingan ward in Sittwe said she doesn't feel safe at night because of the power outages.

“I want the electricity supply to be resumed as early as possible. Houses are damaged, and are prone to break-ins. So, we can’t sleep well at night for fear of theft. It is more worrying for families whose members are only females,” she said.

While the power lines are being repaired, streetlights will be lit at night along the main streets in Sittwe with two diesel generators, said the official from the Arakan State electricity supply office.

Repair of the Ponnagyun sub-power station that mainly supplies townships in northern Arakan State is now 90 percent complete, and electricity poles and power lines are being repaired to resume electricity supply by the end of May, according to the Arakan State Administration Council.