By Mengisteab Teshome
Power outages are smearing unabated while higher dignitaries keep on regretting about it and vow to address it at various meetings, AU and ECA. Even public and private health institutions,engaged in life saving activities, are plagued by power outages
Dwellers and business owners of Addis Ababa express their distrust over Ethiopia Electric Utility’s frequent empty promises of giving a lasting solution to power outrages. The Ethiopian Herald conducted interview to gauge the feeling of city residents.
One of the interviewees, Bezabih Mekonnen whom this reporter approached is a resident of Yeka Sub-city. He said: “Power cuts have become a business as usual trend to the Utility. People, specially businessmen in the neighbourhood, have been languishing under electric blackout for more than 15 days. Cooking and running businesses has begun to be considered as luxury .”
He went on saying: “I think the Utility is currently being run without social accountability and courtesy to customers .”
According to Bezabih, surprisingly 20 households are cut off from electric power supply for several months. The Utility Branch Office Head in the Sub-city ascribes the problem to shortage of power and tell residents to submit application letters for the higher offices in a bid to get the usual electric-power service on a regular basis. “So far, no solution has been given . We are fed up of vain promises of the Utility ,” he added.
A computer house owner at Arat Kilo, who wants to remain anonymous, also said: “Power outages have become common phenomena at this building nowadays. Our business is going down hills as we are losing a foothold in competition!”
As this journalist observed, power outage is besetting some parts of the city with no excuse. Financial institutions have been affected in their e-commerce and commercial transactions, because of internet connectivity or sluggishness related to power supply. Small business ventures are subjected to chaos.
Thankfully, some private and governmental offices have generators as a fail-safe method. It’s not difficult to get someone complaining about the Utility. Even some fellow citizens complain: ” The answers we get seem a mockery!.”
With the aforementioned complaints, Ethiopia Electric Utility External Relations Head Gebre-Egziabiher Tafere was approached. He said: ” The institution is in a dynamic change to meet world standard. The public’s clamour for service is not unfounded. I attribute the challenges to internal and external influences. To do away with the challenges various activities are underway, like planting substations in Addis Ababa. The planting of more than ten substations is in the pipeline. With 60.6 million USD earmarked an agreement is signed to cater to the demands of eight major cities including Addis Ababa. The obsolete lines that were in place have outgrown their life span creating power disruptions.”
He ascribed natural causes and heinous human actions on power lines to the external factor.
According to Gebre-Egziabiher, mounting on all necessary corrective measures and activities the power outages would be brought under control by the Utility soon. “The institution acknowledges misconducts on the part of some employees, who are now under the watchful eye of the Utility.”
Responding to the inquiry why the Utility, reportedly, failed to collect two month power charge or bills in some sub-cities: “We are sensitized about the problem in Kazanchis related with system problem. As things are now getting on track, clients could settle bills for two months as per their schedule. But big business firms and governmental organizations have been paying as usual.”
Gebre-Egziabiher underlined the government has given due attention to fully satisfying the demand both for power generation as well easing utilization system.
It is to be recalled that President Dr. Mulatu Teshome offered a public apology for the power cuts while addressing the joint session of the two chambers of Parliament, the House of People’s Representatives (HPR) and the House of Federation (HoF), while opening the new parliamentary session on October 6, 2014.
He had also labeled a direct criticism against the pertinent governmental office helping restore the bridge of dialogue between the public and the government on the issue.
The President had alluded to the institutional inefficiency of the Ethiopian Electric Service by stating: “… the power interruption is caused in part by maladministration in the institution due to pressure arising from increased demand in major cities in connection with rapid industrialization, change in urban way of life, as well as malfunction of power transmitting lines.”
Though a solid year had elapsed, since the President offered an apology to the public, yet the city is grappling with the puzzle.
Power outages are smearing unabated while higher dignitaries keep on regretting about it and vow to address it at various meetings, AU and ECA. Even public and private health institutions, engaged in life saving activities, are plagued by power outages.
Source: The Ethiopian Herald
