Bad diesel hits power stations... Government corruption and incompetence deepen Aden's suffering
English - Monday 10 July 2023 الساعة 09:54 am
Aden, NewsYemen, exclusive:
The General Electricity Corporation of Aden announced on Sunday that a number of generators of government and private stations have stopped as a result of being supplied with poor diesel fuel, calling on the fuel authorities to conduct a quality check for the current diesel.
The corporation said that the current diesel combustion caused a significant increase in the percentage of carbon emissions in the air, in addition to the rapid deterioration of the filters used to protect the generators, noting that this confirms the poor quality of the fuel and its failure to meet the operating requirements.
In its statement, the Foundation attached a copy of an official document referring to an administrative order issued by the Deputy Governor of Aden, a committee to find out and examine the reasons for the large emission of fumes from the power stations in Aden.
This move came a day after the leader of the Southern Transitional Council, Lutfi Shatara, posted on his Twitter account pictures and video clips showing the volume of smoke rising from a number of power stations in Aden, and the resulting air pollution.
Shatara considered this matter as "revealing the extent of common corruption between the management of Aden refineries and between merchants importing the dirtiest quality diesel fuel and the oil company," commenting by saying: Corruption in Aden is out of control. The south is without honorable cadres.
The stoppage of a number of diesel fuel stations led to an increase in the number of firefighting hours in the capital, Aden, to about 6 hours, compared to two operating hours, which doubled the suffering of the city's residents in light of the high temperatures.
This incident is the second to be disclosed during this year, as the spokesman for the Electricity Corporation in Aden, Nawar Abkar, revealed in late January that government stations had been supplied with bad diesel, and he said that most of the rented power stations "purchased energy" refused to receive this diesel because of its bad quality.
According to workers at power stations in Aden, the diesel that was supplied to the stations recently was an "emergency" shipment that the government bought from a merchant in a hurry and by direct order.
Since the end of the Saudi fuel grant last April, the government has resorted to buying quantities of diesel from some merchants in the local gas station market to cover its needs for limited days, according to what was made by the Minister of Electricity, Manea bin Yamin, in an interview with the Saudi newspaper "Okaz" last Wednesday.
In the dialogue, the minister repeated what the government says about its inability to provide electricity fuel, which is estimated at $75 million per month, explaining that 60-70 percent of the current generation of electricity in the capital, Aden, is done with diesel fuel. Buy it from the local market in emergency quantities.
The minister returned the main reason for the deteriorating electricity situation in the liberated areas to "confusion in decision-making" and the lack of strategic action, indicating that the ministry is working to improve the service and raise operating hours in the short term and gradually so that it reaches between 16 to 18 hours in the coming year. Today during the summer period, up to sufficiency in the coming years.
The Minister of Electricity stressed that work is not limited to providing service only, but to reduce costs and waste in spending, and to reach electricity production at the lowest possible cost, pointing out that the cost of producing kilowatts at the present time reaches 350 riyals, and that the ministry is working to make the cost of producing kilowatts what Between 150 to 180 riyals.
This goal, the minister says, is possible, "and that is in the event that the transition in the governorate of Aden to the operation of electricity with diesel fuel, through the establishment of strategic short-term stations," stressing that this "is within reach if many complex routine procedures are bypassed and an urgent decision is taken in this regard."
The minister's speech reveals that there are possible solutions to solve the electricity crisis that Aden and the liberated areas have been suffering from for 8 years, but corruption, tampering and confusion in managing the services file and the rest of the files represent the main obstacle to these solutions.
