by bratticus » Fri 24 Jun 2011, 09:16:39
The poor nations will be the first to have permanent blackouts.
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Electricity workers kick as power supply worsensBy Adeola Yusuf, SENIOR CORRESPONDENT, Lagos [Africa] / Independent Newspapers / June 20, 2011
Electricity workers in Nigeria have called on authorities of the Ministry of Power to apologise to Nigerians as the epileptic power supply in the country worsened on Monday.
Power supply has crashed to 2,800 Mega Watt (MW) from 3,100 MW it was less than two weeks ago.
Managing Director of Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), Hussein Labo had earlier confirmed the drop in electricity generation from 3,700 MW to 3,100MW last weekend and the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) described the situation as disheartening.
A source at the Ministry of power told Daily Independent on Monday that the power supply “now hovers between 2,800 MW and 3,000MW,” the drop, which Labo had earlier blamed on the maintenance at Utorogun gas plant and low level of water at the hydro power stations. ...
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‘Load shedding snatching last morsel from his kids’Daily Times / June 23, 2011
KARACHI: A large number of traders, shopkeepers and residents, affected by the loathing load shedding of Karachi Electricity Supply Company (KESC), on Wednesday staged a protest demonstration at the Zaib-un-Nisa Street, Saddar and blocked the road, suspending vehicle traffic.
Carrying wooden sticks and chanting slogans against both government and KESC, the angry mob broke windows of public transport buses, creating panic in the area. Traffic on the street and surrounding area remained chocked, stranding thousands of vehicles.
Protestors said the menace of load shedding was not only making their lives miserable in hot weather but also was badly affecting their businesses. They said the government was equally responsible for the anti-consumer crimes of the KESC.
They said the privately owned power utility has been given a free hand by the present regime to loot and fleece Karachiites. They said the ruling political parties were not sincere to get electricity load shedding problem of Karachi solved for a good.
A young protestor said he works at a goldsmith factory in the area and due to load shedding they have to remain idle for hours and resultantly their meagre earning is badly affected since they are paid on ‘per piece rate’. He said similarly, there are dozens of small garment and stitching factories in the buildings where thousands of daily wage labours work on per piece system. He said as now almost every vocational work is done through electricity-driven machinery, the hours long load shedding means idle and unproductive hours.
He said this cruel load shedding is tantamount to snatch the last morsel from the mouth of his children. He said millions of families belonging to daily wagers and low-income workers are facing hunger due to load shedding and the private owners of the KESC and their patrons were responsible for this big human tragedy. ...
