Some of Factories in Yangon will be Temporarily Halted due to the Reduction of Electricity Supply for Seven Days

 Some of Factories in Yangon will be Temporarily Halted due to the Reduction of Electricity Supply for Seven Days

Some factories in Yangon are preparing to halt their operations for days due to the notification on electricity supply reduction across the country for seven days (24 hrs.) from 12 March to 18 March 2022. The State Administration Council (SAC) has announced that the electricity load would be reduced for 24 hrs. during that period while conducting underwater pipeline connections from two new wells drilled in Shwe Offshores Projects till 18 March 2022. It will be more reasonable to temporarily stop the factory operation for a few days to alleviate the cost of the loss if the electricity will out for 24 hours. Most of the factories’ owners, especially in Hlaing Thar Yar Industrial Zone, are planning to stop their operation for a week due to this announcement. So far, they have not received any official letter informing the exact information on when and to what extend the electricity would ceased to be supplied, which makes it difficult to manage their operations.

Moreover, fuel costs also doubled due to the price increase and market fuel price also went up and at least 30 percent. The military council also did not specify where or how long the electricity cut off would be. Currently, the outage is about 5-7 hours daily and rising fuel prices have led to a factory’s operation extra cost approximately 30-50 percent.

The recent announcement by the Ministry of Electricity and Energy has raised concerns among entrepreneurs and the public. Currently, there are factories that have stopped their operations due to inadequate electricity, as well as some plants are planning to suspend operation. However, electricity supply in Thilawa Special Economic Zone runs as usual. The factories are operating normally even they have previously been informed to use generator if the electricity cut off.

Nowadays, electricity in Yangon is cut off twice or 3 times a day. The announcement on a full-time electricity cut off has also raised concerns about the consequence of water shortage and internet blackout. Locals are advised to store water with buckets, water tank or other possible containers at the house. During the Electric Power Corporation meeting, held on 5 March 2022, U Aung Than Oo, Union Minister for Electricity and Energy, said that the electricity has been cut off due to the decrease in production capacity, damaged of power lines and increased price of LNG.

ที่มา: Irrawaddy News dated on 8 March 2022
       https://burma.irrawaddy.com/news/2022/03/07/250348.html

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