A number of customers from Phnom Penh and the provinces of Kompong Speu and Kandal can expect occasional blackouts this weekend as the state-owned utility Electricite du Cambodge installs and links up more power lines, according to company officials.
Between 8 am to 5 pm on Saturday and Sunday, specific areas in the three provinces will see their power supply “suspended” as the EdC works on a recently completed electricity line from Vietnam that has been connected to the outskirts of the capital.
According to an announcement published Wednesday in the Khmer-language Koh Santepheap newspaper, certain “zones” may experience blackouts. They are: in Phnom Penh along National Road 3 in Dangkao district’s Choam Chao commune, in Phnom Penh’s Dangkao district’s Prey Sar commune, in Phnom Penh along National Road 2 in Meanchey district’s Chak Angre Krom, along National Road 4 from Phnom Penh to Kompong Speu town and in Takhmau.
“The EdC will postpone distribution of electricity for checking and linking high-tension lines transmitting 220 [kilovolts] from Vietnam to Takeo province and substation number four,” read the announcement signed by EdC Director Keo Ratanak.
When reached by telephone Wednesday, Mr Ratanak said he was too busy to speak. Ty Norin, chairman for the Electricity Authority of Cambodia, could not be reached for comment.
Currently, a single power line connects Vietnam and the capital, providing just 22 megawatts of power. The new high-tension lines being installed are expected to increase the power flow to 200 megawatts once the connection is completed, doubling the amount of electricity available to the capital.
Chea Sunhel, distribution director for EdC, said the blackouts would not last all day and would only affect customers intermittently as the new lines are set up.
“We just link the electricity, we shift to the new system. It will not cut the electricity in all of Phnom Penh,” he said.
