Challenge of improving electricity supply

As summer temperatures soar to 40 centigrade, many Yemenis have to battle the constant heat without refrigeration, lighting, air conditioning or fans because of repeated power cuts. The erratic power supply is a consequence of an inadequate and antiquated electricity system that badly needs updating, observers say. "This is really crazy. My household appliances have been damaged due to the problem of power cuts. Last week, my fridge broke down because of the power supply, which became too strong after it went out for some hours," explained Mohammed Qaid, a father of seven who lives in the Yemeni capital, Sana. The whole country has had to cope with disrupted power supplies for over 15 years. "We cannot tolerate this. We had better go back to using traditional sources for light and forget about modern ones. It seems they are not going to work for us," Qaid added. He believed it was unfair that he should pay for a service which was not being provided properly. "You know, it is funny to find yourself receiving bills for electricity and water services neither of which flow on a regular basis. How come they want us to pay for the bills while they do not provide us with a good service?" asked an exasperated Qaid. When the power supply situation recently deteriorated even further, the Yemeni parliament summoned a meeting on 9 June, to ask the minister of electricity, Abdulrahman Tarmoom, the reasons for the continuing supply interruptions. The minister claimed that demand for electricity had far exceeded the available national generating capacity through the main electricity grid. Yemen's total production of power is 1100 MW resulting in a shortfall between supply and demand of 250 MW, according to a report published by the ministry of electricity earlier this year. Further, the ministry said that 33 percent of the power produced seeps out of the system because of a lack of proper maintenance, as well as the increasing age of power stations. The result is that the available electricity is sufficient for only 41 percent of the nation's 19.7 million population. Most of the available supply goes to the urban population which consumes 92 percent of the total power output. The majority of the population, who live in the countryside, use only eight percent of overall electricity production. Tarmoom added that his ministry was being forced to cover the power supply gap by instituting rolling power cuts, rotated around the provinces of the country. "The deficiency in power supply has reached 138 megawatts in Sana and the power station is 22 years old," the minister said, explaining how rapidly the demand for electricity had grown. He added that the government had a clear idea of how to tackle the continued interruption of supplies by increasing generating capacity to 3,000 MW of power. However, he said, this plan required funding. A parliamentary report on the power situation issued in March criticised the government for failing to fulfill earlier commitments to resolve the problem of electricity supply. The report observed that the government spent over US $362,694 on maintaining steam and diesel power stations between 2000 and 2003 yet the interruption of supplies continued. The report recommended that the government should implement a power station project in the governorate of Marib, 173 km to the north of Sana, to generate an additional 300 megawatts. This project has not yet started. In 1999 the International Development Association (IDA), a World Bank institution, approved a loan of $54 million to build a 50 MW emergency power station in Sana, capable of operating on both gas and heavy fuel oil to help cover the increasing power generation gap. Yet this, and other planned projects intended to cope with the increasing need for power have yet to be completed. Meanwhile, some people are taking the drastic step of moving away from home to escape the summer heat. "I left Hodeidah, a governorate 226 km from Sana and overlooking the Red Sea, due to the increasing heat. It was intolerable, particularly when the power goes off several times a day. You can not live without air conditioning. This is why I have come to spend this hot summer in Sana, which has relatively moderate weather," said Mohammed al-Ameen.