Starting late November in to early December, residents and students in Moulmein, the capital city of Mon State, have reported little to no electricity coverage – disrupting daily chores and university student’s studies.

“Moulmein has a big electricity station in Ngan Tay, and it has two lines [a government line and resident line],” A monk from the city explained. “These are not the same lines. For a person who is close with the government, they are getting access to government lines since [most] residents have no electricity.” He continued, explaining that residents with the right contacts are able to bribe authorities that will allow them access to the government electricity line 24 hours a day.

The lack of continuous electricity has disrupted even the most basic activities. “Our line and the government electricity line are not the same,” said one resident from Myiang-tha-yar quarter. “If we do get [electricity], it is a very weak wattage. We can only cook curry – we can’t pull water for showers or cooking.”

For students the lack of electricity has been a problem. A source from Moulmein University explained, “Electricity hasn’t been on very often. Now it has been off for 2 days. It has been a problem for students who have to retake their exam [a supplemental exam]. We have to buy candles to study at night time.”

According to the warden of a hostel who hosted 9th and 10th standard students in Moulmein. We have to pay for generator electricity for getting light and conducting lessons in our hostel.”

Last year we had no light during time when the University was closed,” another student recalled. “We only got electricity while university was open.” Students who remained at the university to study, or who were unable to return home, for the summer holiday, were without electricity for 3 months.

At this time students who barely passed their final exams have the opportunity to take a supplemental exam to demonstrate improvement. Students who have remained behind to study for this makeup exam, have been hampered by having no electricity for 2 days, explained a student preparing for the supplemental exam.

Electricity for students has been a catalyst issue in the city. Moulmein University students took the street on March 6th of this year, after two weeks of power outages in the Mon State’s capital city wich rendered studying for university exams nearly impossible. Regular supplies of electricity were eventually returned to the city.

Regardless of electricity flow, even in outages like this last week’s, residents are still charged a flat rate. A Moulmein resident says, “we can’t get electricity [but if] it come or not we still have to pay a monthly electricity bill. It costs 25 to 50 kyat per watt. However every single family has to pay 1,500 kyat for each month.”

The actual reason for intermittent electricity is unclear, thou rumors abound. One resident speculated, “The department of electricity has two electricity lines, but they just release one to the airport, the army [Burmese military] base and offices, and the railway station… Because of that we have less electricity.”