Power goes out again in Addu, two days after new genset operationalized

Power began to go out again in Addu on Wednesday, just two days after an additional 1.8-megawatt generator set was operationalized in the southern Maldivian city in a bid to resolve persistent outages.

Fenaka – which provides utility services in Addu – installed a 1.8-megawatt generator set on February 21 to fix the power outages in the linked islands of the city. Another 1-megawatt generator set was sent on March 13.

But despite assurances by the state utility service provider that the issue will be fixed in time for Ramadan, the power outages continued and got worse with the rise in power consumption during the holy month.

This prompted Fenaka to send another 1.8-megawatt generator set to Addu on March 25. The generator set was operationalized on Monday.

But a spokesperson from the Addu City Council told Sun that power went out from several areas of Addu on Wednesday, including the Addu Nature Park area, Hithadhoo and Maradhoo-Feydhoo.

Fenaka said that the power outage resulted from an issue with one of the engines.

A local told Sun that they are now hopeless over the difficult situation and disappointed with the authorities’ inability to resolve the issue.

Addu is home to the largest local population outside of Male’.

The Addu City Council, as well as parliamentary representatives from Addu, have repeatedly expressed concern over the issue and have accused Fenaka of incompetence.

On March 10, South Hithadhoo MP Ibrahim Nazil, a member of the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), presented an emergency motion at the Parliament raising concerns that the power outages were disrupting the daily lives of the residents of Addu. However, the ruling People’s National Congress (PNC) used its supermajority to reject the motion. The motion gained the support of just the dozen lawmakers who represent MDP and a sole lawmaker from the ruling party – Central Hithadhoo MP Ahmed Azaan Marzooq.