The public is awaiting this morning’s continuation of a meeting about “the state of affairs and possible solutions at GEBE NV” in the Central Committee of Parliament (see related story) with much anticipation. Hopefully there will be a quorum, regardless of whether it is furnished by the coalition and/or opposition, because the country is clearly facing a national electricity crisis.
The meeting was adjourned on June 7, so the Mercelina Cabinet and government-owned utility company had some time to come up with answers for a population burdened by continued load-shedding. Last Wednesday GEBE’s management announced a “potential signing this week” for containerised generators, but nothing further was heard since.
Considering that both mentioned an average three-month period for the machines to arrive and become functional, there is obviously no time to waste. The community has now been dealing with frequent power cuts since May 5.
Should the result of a study to determine whether replacing the costly crankshaft of Unit 19 is a worthwhile risk be positive, the situation might be normalised somewhat in about six weeks, which sounds a bit better.
A story in today’s edition on outgoing Dutch State Secretary of Kingdom Relations Alexandra van Huffelen’s introductory remarks to the Trust Fund’s 2023 annual report states that – in addition to laying 8 kilometres of underground low voltage cables, telecommunication lines and drinking water pipes – GEBE’s business plan had been completed. This makes one wonder to what extent the current lack of production capacity was foreseen and addressed in such.
The fact remains that the positive input of all involved is welcome to help resolve the energy shortfall not just short- but also long-term. Every effort must be made to – as best possible – prevent this from happening again.
