Massive power outages on the Essequibo Coast starting last week Tuesday have resulted in huge losses to businesses, especially those dealing in perishables. There is widespread consternation among residents particularly given that Christmas is approaching. This week we asked working and business people on the Essequibo how the blackouts have affected them. Their comments follow:
Jumal Sam, lottery agent – ‘Well basically, the blackouts come around this time every year and this should not be so. I mean, why this time of the year when the electricity is most needed? When there is blackout, we don’t have any water either so what then are we paying for? When we do have the pipe water it’s atrocious. You can’t use it to drink, wash or cook. Persons come here to buy their lotto tickets and because of the blackouts we usually see a lot of screw faces because persons are not pleased. This slows up business here tremendously.’
Ugeeta Lall, Digicel customer sales representative – ‘We usually have to use the internet daily to send up our reports and because of the blackout, this cannot be done. A lot of postings have to be done through NRG which requires the use of electricity. Something should be done to ensure that we can have unlimited use of electricity. At home, everything spoils in our fridge and our phones can’t be charged.’
Kamal Sandy, small businesswoman – ‘I usually sell ice, ice cream and chicken and business has slowed up for me. When the current do come on for less than two hours in the night, I’m at home so there is no one to put the freezer on. I plug out the freezer when there is blackout because I’m afraid that if I leave it on, when the current comes on it will blow my freezer. Everything in my fridge at home spoiled too and all the greens that I bought are withered.’
Savitri Pitamber, shopkeeper – ‘Normally, all business people depend on the electricity. I sell chicken and over 40 lbs spoil because of the blackout. We can’t even get to call anybody to order things because our phones can’t get to charge. Most persons come to buy things like cold drinks and ice cream but these things melt and the drinks aren’t cold. Because of the blackouts, we have to do everything early and go upstairs. Sometimes we try to sell in the nights with candle but we can’t keep taking that risk because it’s Christmas time and anything could happen.’
Nataram Ramnanan, businessman – ‘Thanks for asking me this question. As a businessman and in this area, these people from GPL should understand that we are business people from the extension end of Charity and our businesses run on Mondays. It’s those days that they should have studied when making the schedules for the blackouts. We use the current and water on business days and on these days we should have the priority to use the electricity. We are farmers, we are
businessmen, we are taxpayers and we are some of the main contributors to this community and we should enjoy or have the privilege to put Essequibo on the map. It cost me a lot to buy a generator to operate my business during the past few days. In fact I had to buy a generator and it is more expensive since you have to get the fuel and all these things. I didn’t suffer much losses because I’m a businessman for years and I prepared my mind for this a long time ago.’
Natisha Garraway, store manager – ‘The blackout has taken a toll on everyone on the Essequibo Coast and something should be done about it. I can’t go about my work as usual because of these blackouts. By the time I’m finished at work and get home there is no electricity so my home chores can’t be completed. I can’t get to iron my clothes for work either. This issue with the blackouts has become overbearing.’
Valinie Sookaree, data entry clerk – ‘Well the blackout has been a big hindrance to me because I usually have to use the computer to do my job. Now because of the blackouts, all my work has started to pile up and it makes my job harder. At home, all of my meat spoiled and I had to throw away a lot of stuff. We should be able to get the opportunity to use electricity without all these blackouts.’
Fiona Ramotar, sales clerk – ‘I think GPL should stop giving us all these blackouts. This is the Christmas season and the amount of blackouts that we have are hindering us. The blackouts damage our appliances too because we can’t anticipate when the current will be off to ensure that we unplug our equipment. We have seen a decrease in our sales and it’s because of the blackout.’
Fizuel Imanudeen, vendor – ‘Well whenever the blackouts occur, the entire market is dark because the place is enclosed and there is no ventilation. If you need to go in the cupboard to get something for a customer, and you can’t see clearly, the customer becomes impatient and leaves. This decreases sales too because if the electricity was on, none of this would have occurred. At home, the kids had their annual exams last week and it was hard for them to study. I hope something can be done about this issue.’
Andrae Dos Santos, taxi driver – ‘The blackouts right now are sickening. GPL claims that they’re progressing but they are not. Whole day and night sometimes we have the blackouts here and this is affecting everyone. I’m a taxi driver and I
don’t get to charge my phone and that slows me up because when my phone is down I can’t get any calls. Another thing is that when there is blackout the water goes off and we can’t get to use the pipe water so we eventually have to use the rain water for everything.’
