A malfunctioning generator is causing power outages that are besetting residents and businesses in and around Phnom Penh, electricity company officials said Monday.
Laing Hao, deputy managing director of Khmer Electricity Power, said that the power shortages, which have been going on for a month, are caused by one of the company’s six generators that needs to be repaired.
The company is one of the private firms providing power to state-run Electricite du Cambodge, which sells it to consumers.
“We are waiting for spare parts from Finland, or seeing if the company [that sold the generator] will send us a new one to run temporarily,” Laing Hao said.
Laing Hao said he could not say when the faulty 8-megawatt generator would be fixed as factory representatives are still discussing how to solve the problem.
In Meanchey district on the outskirts of the city, power outages of three to five hours a day have been occuring for a month, said Sok Dina, a resident of the district’s Boeng Tompun commune.
“The municipality should have enough electricity for people, because [Phnom Penh] is the capital and everyone needs it,” she said.
Khim Sambo, a resident of Monorom commune in Prampi Makrara district, said he has experienced outages for three to five hours nearly every day for the last two weeks.
“Businessmen need to start their own generators to run their businesses when there is no electricity. It spoils the environment and affects people’s lives,” Khim Sambo said.
EdC is currently “looking to install more generators to stabilize electricity to meet people’s needs,” said EdC Director General Tan Kim Vin.
EdC has asked garment factories to use their own generators so that there will be more power for the general public, he said.
Tan Kim Vin added that Phnom Penh will have enough electricity by 2008, when he anticipates that the city will be connected to Vietnam’s power grid.
