Paletwa dodges electricity cut with diesel resupply

By DMG 21 Jun 2021

DMG Newsroom
21 June, 2021, Paletwa 

The township electrical engineer’s office in Chin State’s Paletwa Township said it had initially announced that electricity, which is currently being distributed to households in downtown Paletwa from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. daily, would be temporarily cut off due to a shortage of fuel. However, under changed circumstances there will be no power outage as diesel was expected to arrive on Monday, he added.  

U Naing Naing Gyi, chief of the Paletwa Township electrical engineer’s office, said that despite public warnings that there would be a power outage in Paletwa Township from June 21, the arrival of diesel on Monday would stave off a cutoff. 

“We have arranged to carry fuel from Kyauktaw, so electricity will not be cut off in Paletwa. It is a warning that there may be a power outage if diesel is not delivered. If we get diesel, it means we will supply it regularly without any power outage,” he explained. 

Residents of downtown Paletwa have only three hours of electricity a day, and locals want more. 

“We only get electricity for three hours a day, so we hope to get more because it is not convenient. … By 11 o’clock at night, there is no electricity. It is often inconvenient. I hope to get more electricity for other business matters,” said Ma Yamin, a resident of Myoma ward. 

Of the four wards in Paletwa, only Ywama, Myoma and Rikkha wards are supplied with electricity, consuming an average of 83 to 85 gallons of diesel per day, according to the office of the township electrical engineer. Taewa ward is about 3.5 miles from Paletwa and has yet to receive electricity. 

Ko Tin Htoo Aung, a resident of Paletwa, said the road was closed due to bomb blasts in Paletwa and Kyauktaw in May, and that the movement of boats was blocked due to Covid-19 restrictions.