Almost one month after being in the dark, households at Mabaruma and other communities connected to the electricity grid in the Region One area began receiving electricity earlier this week.
Reports out of the region are that the generator at the power station at Mabaruma was put into operation last weekend after vital parts which were damaged last month were transported into the area and later installed at the power house.
Residents of the area told Stabroek News yesterday that they have been receiving electricity for as much as 12-hour periods over the past two days.
According to Mabaruma resident Donna Bowen, the service is still being tested. She said the communities have been receiving electricity since Monday evening for 10 to 12-hour periods. The power usually runs for 5 to 7-hour periods there.
While officials from the regional administration were said to be out of the area yesterday, this newspaper was told that a new generating set, which the region purchased earlier this year to replace the current problematic generating set, is yet to arrive in the region.
A source at Mabaruma said yesterday that a barge which was expected to travel from the city to the region experienced a delay while in the city. He said that the vessel is expected to arrive at Kumaka some time later this week.
Residents of the area have been without electricity for a number of weeks and coupled with the non arrival of the North West ferry, MV Kimbia, several persons were planning to picket the offices of the regional administration as the two-fold issue persisted. The shops were running low on supplies, while the price of kerosene, a vital fuel for most households, skyrocketed.
Stabroek News understands that the ferry travelled to Kumaka on Friday after an almost month-long delay and the vessel is in the region preparing to return to the city this weekend.
