With another summer approaching, Yangon industrial estates are again facing the prospect of massive power outages that owners expect will cost industrialists hundreds of thousands of dollars in profit, while hurting the commercial capital’s efforts to bolster an investor-friendly reputation.

by Zaw Htike, from The Myanmar Times

A worker at a shrimp factory in Yangon walks past an industrial cooling system. Photo: Boothee

In the summer months of March to May 2013, factories had as little as three hours of electricity a day, and for the first two weeks of May suffered complete and continuous power outages.

The Yangon Electricity Services Board (YESB) is currently able to supply factories with 18 hours of electricity every day, but when city use spikes in the hottest months, factories are unable to access the 3500 to 4000 electric units they need daily to operate – Yangon’s 31 industrial zones require on average a daily supply of 250 megawatts, with 80 megawatts consumed by the sprawling Hlaing Thuryar zone alone.

“Power shortages cause industry to fall down,” said U Myat Thin Aung, chairperson of the Management Committee for Hlaing Tharyar Industrial Estate at Yangon’s largest industrial zone in Hlaing Tharyar township. “Last May, the amount of electricity provided for Yangon’s industries was sometimes zero.”

In May 2013, the power shortages were so intense that the 100 or so frozen seafood factories that require constant access to electricity to keep products frozen were forced to shut down for up to two weeks, resulting in hundreds of tonnes of food being left to spoil.

Read the full article here: http://www.mmtimes.com/index.php/business/9651-electricity-issues-to-threate-n-big-industry.html

Same as last year, the year before that, the year before that... rinse and repeat!

From what I have heard, it will be at least 3 years, if not 5 before they fix it.

Sent from my GT-I9082 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Memories of "recharge everything at the pub" spring to mind