Electricity supply to Sittwe, Ponnagyun to resume next week

By Admin 02 Jun 2023

DMG Newsroom
2 June 2023, Sittwe

Electricity supply to Sittwe and Ponnagyun townships will resume beginning June 7, according to the Arakan State electricity supply office.

Sub-power stations and many electricity poles were damaged by Cyclone Mocha in Sittwe, Ponnagyun, Rathedaung, Kyauktaw, Mrauk-U, Minbya, Pauktaw, Myebon, Buthidaung, Maungdaw and Gwa townships last month, severely disrupting electricity supply in those townships.

Electricity will be supplied first to urban wards in Sittwe and Ponnagyun, which are closest in proximity to the power station, according to an official.

“We plan to resume electricity supply to Sittwe and Ponnagyun on June 7 and 8. Urban wards will be the first to get electricity back. Then we will resume supply in the entire township. We are also working hard to resume electricity supply to other townships,” he said.

Ko Nay Lin Aung, a resident of Ywar Gyi Myauk Ward in the Arakan State capital Sittwe, said: “It is good that electricity supply will be resumed. We have difficulties in cooking and pumping water as we have no electricity. We also have concerns for our security at night because it is completely dark.”

Rice mills in storm-hit townships have been forced to suspend operations because of power outages, according to the Arakan State Rice Millers Association.

“If electricity supply is resumed, rice mills will be able to resume operations,” said the association’s general secretary, U Zaw Thant Aung.

Some 500 electricity staff from outside Arakan State are working to repair power lines in storm-hit townships.