The water and electricity company (Emae) of Sao Tome and Principe announced on Tuesday it would regularize the population’s power supply, doubling production to 20 megawatts after more than two months of continuous cuts.
“Now, by carrying out maintenance at various stations and installing a new power plant in cooperation with Turkey, we can improve our capacity and are able to offer the highest quality energy to the people of Sao Tome,” he said. This Tuesday, Electricity Director Emae Clério Boa Esperanza.
The level of electricity consumption across the country is nearly 19 megawatts, but after renovations at several plants and the installation of five new generators from a Turkish company that came online on Saturday, with an additional 10 megawatts, production capacity exceeds 20 megawatts, the official said.
Clério Boa Esperanza said the new plant, located in the city center and now run by a Turkish company, under an agreement contested by the opposition, “can only produce a maximum of 10 megawatts” but “cannot be operated at full capacity.” maximum” and the rest comes from various plants established in the country.
Emae’s Electricity Director stressed that it is not enough to improve production capacity to always have energy, but it is necessary to “balance the aspects of the network, small faults and maintenance that must always be carried out.”
“We still have older machines that require maintenance, which needs to be carried out in a timely manner to ensure that the machines are always available. […] We have factories that are behind in maintenance, we have made improvements, but we must continue to work on this in order to have energy 24 hours a day,” emphasized Clério Boa Esperanza.
However, the person in charge said that diligent adherence to the maintenance plan is not solely up to Emae, which has a “serious problem” as it produces electricity but “does not collect” the full amount billed.
Boa Esperanza said “there are many Emae customers who do not pay their debts,” including government agencies, creating a “vicious circle” that leaves the company without enough funds to carry out maintenance on its machines.
The person in charge admitted that, despite the constant reductions, in many cases there is an increase in costs for settlements with customers, but he considers this a normal process due to the operating system of the machines and devices.
However, he stressed that “Emae, aware of this”, decided that the value of “the following invoices will be reduced to 25% as evidence of recognition of this situation.”
The executive in charge urged the public to adhere to the process of replacing conventional lamps with LED lamps, reduce consumption and also pay their electricity bills regularly.
Over the past two months, the population of Sao Tome has experienced rolling power outages that began without prior information but were later justified by a reduction in energy production due to the maintenance of generators.
People complained of a number of business losses and damage to household appliances, as well as insecurity due to rising crime.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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