According to the residents of Mawlamyine Township, electricity is available 24 hours a day for the Military Junta’s stations, police stations, and its related quarters, while other areas receive power for only two hours daily.
Many townships, including Mawlamyine, faced electric shortages. Most received just two hours of power a day in December.
Although the department of electricity in Mawlamyine township was scheduled to provide electricity for four hours at a time. In reality, only two hours of power were supplied. Even this limited supply was subject to frequent power reductions.
“The electricity supply was relatively stable in early November. However, by late December, the power shortages worsened. Electricity was provided for only one or two hours a day, and sometimes not at all. When it did come, it was usually at night and would black out shortly afterward,” reported a resident of Mawlamyine.
While civilians received only two hours of electricity daily, military junta stations, police stations, former military staff quarters, and associated areas were provided with 24-hour power. It has been reported that in neighborhoods with continuous power supply, civilians are collaborating with linemen to steal and illegally divert electricity.
A Mawlamyine resident reported, “Quarters with 24-hour electricity secretly negotiated with linemen to share power lines with other areas by paying, especially among people who know each other, such as former staff, former officers, and pensioners.”
Residents said that the frustration caused by irregular power supply during electricity shortages is increasing.
Although the military junta increased the electric bill three times, the electricity shortage worsened significantly in November in Mon State’s townships, with some villages facing shortages for several days.
A source with the Ministry of electricity reported that only 35 percent of power could be provided to the entire Myanmar, causing cities like Yangon and Mandalay to face long hours of electricity shortages.
It has been reported that the entire country can now produce only around 2,000 megawatts of electricity daily, while nationwide demand stands at 5,443 megawatts per day. This means available electricity generation capacity covers only about 35 percent. As a result, major cities, including Yangon and Mandalay, are experiencing prolonged power outages.
