The dark side of northern power cuts

Northern households and small businesses that cannot afford alternative sources of electricity are buckling under the weight of consistent power outages, which can be as long as six hours a day.

Some residents of the three major towns in the north - Ongwediva, Ondangwa and Oshakati – have described the outages as a ‘crisis’, which has pushed small business to the cusp of closure.

Many small business owners Namibian Sun spoke to this week said they have the option of investing in alternative power supplies to help combat the power cuts, but these extra power sources can be expensive. This includes generators, power banks or dongles. The residents also struggle with water interruptions.

“We come to a standstill because our equipment requires electricity and it's affecting sales because customers tend to buy less. We need to do sales manually and it becomes dark inside the warehouse. Also, if it takes long to return, I usually just go home - especially if my laptop gets flat,” a store owner based at Oshakati said.

No work for the day

“Losing electrical supply results in a pause in the day’s work. I have to stop working as I cannot cut hair without electricity. This could mean a significant loss of business, not being able to fulfill customer requests,” Mathew Haimbodi, a barber at Uupindi location in Oshakati, said.

Haimbodi added that he has invested in a rechargeable machine for hair, but it can only accommodate so many customers.

Taimi Shivute of Tuno Trading in Oshakati said the town council informs them about outages ahead of time, which allows them to brace themselves.

Penoshili Hauholo, a hairdresser at ERF Perfect Touch Salon in Ongwediva, noted that it is heartbreaking when she has a client who needs to wash and blow or who brings in a wig for wash and blow. “That means you are not working that day. Unless you have a client for rasta whose hair does not need to be washed, because if you wash, you need to blow [out the hair]. So, power cuts affect our work so badly,” she lamented.

Ndilimeke Haimbodi of Pure-Zen Health and Skincare, located at Ekamuti Guest House in Ondangwa, said she is spared because the establishment has backup power. She added that power outages in her area often happen on Sundays, which is a less busy day at the spa.

‘We’re concerned too’

Ondangwa CEO Ismael Namugongo said the town’s leadership - like all other community members, including business owners - is also concerned about the ‘persistent’ interruption of water and electricity in the town.

“It’s an unfortunate fact that many of our services, water and electricity included, are supplied in a system [of] complex networks,” he said.

Namugongo added they have made suggestions to NamWater to have a standby generator in case of power interruption at their pumping stations in Ondangwa or Oshakati. According to him, they have also engaged Nored about residents’ concerns.

“We have constructed additional water towers or reservoirs to hold water for a while in case NamWater is not pumping. It’s a similar situation with Nored, which is responsible for electricity supply [in the town]. Various meetings have been held with the two institutions to improve the situation,” he said.

Working on it

Ongwediva CEO Damian Egumbo said they have not had any major water or power interruptions in the town which were recorded at the office, apart from those which might have been caused by technical glitches beyond their control.

Oshakati town council public relations officer Katarina Kamari said the town’s leadership is concerned about the impact of the interruptions on business owners, residents and potential investors, adding that teams are working “diligently” to resolve the issues as quickly as possible.

She further noted that the council has undertaken a project to place sewer reticulation lines in Evuluko location, which will result in the disconnection of water lines from time to time.

Not on purpose

Nored spokesperson Simon Lukas said they do everything in their power to ensure they do not interrupt services in Ongwediva and Ondangwa. In instances where it is beyond their control, the power utility announces in advance in order for residents and business owners to be aware of the interruption, he added.

“These days we did not have major power outages in Ongwediva, but there is a scheduled one coming up mid-October. We will send out a notice,” Lukas said.

He noted that on 24 September, Nored also experienced an unplanned power interruption at Onekwaya-Ongha due to a metal object which was thrown on the electricity line.