Page 11 - AfrElec Week 28 2021

AfrElec NEWS IN BRIEF AfrElec

on BEDC’s decision to disconnect the
community from the Irrua transmission line
to the Auchi transmission line.
Members of the community, who staged
a peaceful protest against the development,
marched through major streets in the town,
calling on the BEDC to return them to Irrua
transmission station.
Spokesperson for the community, Ogiso
Tunde Ogbeide, said life in Agbede had
become unbearable as nothing significant
could be done without electricity.
He lamented that residents of the
community, who are mainly rice farmers, now
have to go through a lot of stress to access Rice
Mills in the area that now run on fuel and
diesel, adding that the situation had paralysed
socio-economic activities in the locality.
But reacting to the protests, BEDC
Corporate Affairs Manager, Tayo Adekunle,
who confirmed the development, said power
supply had been restored in the community.

POWER
South Africa set for floating

domestic, learning, and official activities. for electricity for such long hours are also power row
“This storm has created a big problem affected. A young entrepreneur Awa Sanyang
for us. In my house, there is no water since said that this kind of situation is not good A deal expected to be awarded to end South
last night. I could not have showered this for her business, and it would even affect Africa’s continuing energy crisis could
morning, because I left the remaining Gambian economy. contribute to higher emissions and provide a
reserved water for my children to bathe Meanwhile, the spokesperson of the short-term solution rather than a long-term
before going to school. But as we speak, we National Water and Electricity Company, one, Eurasia Review said.
cannot even use the toilet,” Mariama Njie told Pierre Silva, has apologised to the public for Globally, nearly 750mn people will lack
Xinhua. the situation, before hinting that the services access to electricity in 2050, with more than
Some women have started going around will soon be restored. 95 per cent of them in Sub?Saharan Africa,
town begging for water from neighbors to “The situation is there are some trees and according to the International Energy Agency
be able to use the toilets and to cook. Others roofs that fell on our network and some poles (IEA) in its Net Zero by 2050 report.
are looking for taps powered by boreholes. have been damaged and they are down. We South Africa is facing some of the worst
Standing 10th position in the queue was Fatou are trying to restore. We are working on them blackouts on record. Research from the
Touray. to make sure that we resolve the problems,” Pretoria-based Council for Scientific and
“As you can see, we are tormenting. We Silva stressed. Industrial Research (CSIR), shows these
couldn’t do any other thing because I have to rolling blackouts amounted to 530 hours
look for water. It is the most important thing without power in 2019 and cost the economy
in life,” she lamented. between R60 and R120bn.
“It is not possible to use the toilet in this POWER CUTS On 19 March, Karpowership, a company
situation, and we need to drink and cook too. that owns ship-mounted power plants, was
This is a bad experience,” Touray said. Edo community protests revealed as a preferred bidder by South
Apart from the water crisis, the windstorm Africa’s Department of Mineral Resources
has also affected the electricity supply. People’s against lingering power and Energy to provide 1,220 MW of energy
mobile phones have since been switched off under the Risk Mitigation Independent Power
and communication has been disrupted. outages Producer Procurement Programme (RMI4P).
Ebrima Fatty has complained that he has In the deal, Karpowership would supply
missed some vital appointments last night, Residents of Agbede Community in Etsako South Africa with five power ships operating
including missing a deadline to submit his West Council of Edo State, at the weekend, on liquified natural gas from 2022 to 2042 at
online university assignment. protested against the Benin Electricity a cost of 218bn South African rand (about
“Even though I had already written my Distribution Company (BEDC) over lingering US$13.3bn).
work, I could not send it,” he told Xinhua. electricity outage in the area. “The idea behind the RMI4P is to get
Some workplaces that can not afford fuel They blamed the prolonged outage power … to stop load shedding [blackouts]

Week 28 15•July•2021 www. NEWSBASE .com P11