FENAKA to send 1600 kilowatt generator to Addu to fix electricity issue

FENAKA has begun efforts to send a 1600 kilowatt generator to Addu City, which is currently experiencing regular power outages due to insufficient generators.

While the city's electricity consumption goes as high as 12 megawatts during peak hours, the city has 20 generator sets in the Hithadhoo powerhouse to supply electricity to the connected islands. Although the total capacity of these is 26.8 megawatts, five generators are currently decommissioned, due to which the maximum supply is only at 15 megawatts.

Apart from this, FENAKA said that cables being severed during road development activities are also causing power outages in the city.

The state owned enterprise said that they are bringing in a 1600 kilowatt generator in order to resolve the current electricity issues in the second most populous city in the country.

With the new generator, electricity issues in the city will be resolved within this month, Environment Minister Ibrahim Thoriq also has said previously.

The minister said that Addu City, Hithadhoo's central power station was neglected during former President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih's administration with no development brought to the facility during the five year term. This has caused the facility's condition to deteriorate, he said.

He further said that additional generators required for the station were also not procured at the time and that the ones being used now were also not installed during the past government.

Last April, the government of Maldives signed with a Chinese company to resolve the electricity issues in Addu City. FENAKA said at the time that the completion of this project would result in a permanent fix for the city's power issues for the next 20 or so years.