Two-day blackouts in three townships of Chin State

18 October 2020 – The three townships of Falam, Hakha and Thantlang in Chin State faced power outages from 7am to 5pm yesterday due to ‘electrical flashover’ as announced by the Electricity Supply Enterprise (ESE), Hakha.

The ESE under the Ministry of Electricity and Energy said on Wednesday that the electric arc identified on the 66KV transmission line of the National Grid between Gangaw and Hakha required maintenance services and that it would cut off power for two days on 17 and 19 October.

Salai Thang, a Hakha resident, said to the Chinland Guardian: “For a year or two, we have got used to using electricity on almost a daily basis. We feel awkward when we have power outages for the whole day like yesterday. It really affects our lives now.”

In Hakha, electricity was back on around 6pm yesterday.

“It’s great that we have electricity now. However, the government does not seem to have a back-up system. If something happens to an electric post along the road between Gangaw and Hakha, we just have to wait until it is fixed. This is now an issue,” said Ms Tha, a local shop-owner in Hakha.

In Hakha last Saturday on 10 October, a house fire allegedly starting from faulty electrical wiring used for playing TV caused a blackout in the capital for hours.

Meanwhile, Chin State Development Affairs, Electricity and Industry Minister U Soe Htet told the Hakha Post that the three townships of Tedim, Tonzang and Paletwa would be provided with the National Grid electricity before the end of 2022.

Currently in Chin State, electricity supplied through the National Grid covers only the six townships of Falam, Hakha, Kanpetlet, Matupi and Mindat with some still under construction, and Khaikam town adjacent to Kalay, Sagaing Region. – Reporting by Thawng Zel Thang