Frustrations mount as power disruptions in Addu drags on

The frequent power disruptions affecting the linked islands of Addu remains unresolved nearly one month on, resulting in mounting public frustration in the most populous Maldivian city outside the capital.

Aminath Adhala Rasheed, a councilwoman from the Addu City Council, told Sun on Saturday that the council has yet to receive information from any official source regarding when a permanent solution can be found to the issue.

But she said that power disruptions have been less frequent the last two days.

Adhala expressed concern that the power disruptions are causing damages to expensive electronic and electrical equipment and devices owned by residents of the city.

“It remains unclear when this will be resolved. This is resulting in serious damages. We got a call to the council two days back. TVs, monitors and ACs… These are expensive equipment. There is no one to take responsibility for the damage to these private properties,” she said.

Adhala said that the government has been promising to resolve the city’s utility issues for years.

“The truth is that the people of Addu are living in difficult conditions. Water and electricity. We face disruptions to the water supply even now. Imagine how hard would it be for the people living in flats when the water and power goes out. What can they do?” she said.

Parliamentary representatives from Addu had met with top officials from the utility service provider Fenaka last week to discuss the issue.

Fenaka was not immediately available for comment regarding an update.

Last week, the Addu City Council said that the city’s generators are old, and that expressed concern over lack of progress in securing funding for a project to upgrade the generators.

The council has repeatedly expressed frustration over the issue.