The right to let us know
Editorial
Kaieteur News
May 15, 2007
Over the weekend, many locations were without power for long periods, but there has been no announcement on the non-supply of electricity to these areas. It is often the same with the people who provide potable water.
No one has been made aware of the reason for the power outage, and the power company continues to operate as though nothing has happened. There has been no public notice, and to make matters worse, no section of the media has attempted to ascertain the reason for the power outage.
Quite often, the outage comes at a crucial time in the daily operations. If one is operating a media entity, then one must either have at hand a ready back-up system, or shut down operations until power is restored.
It goes without saying that if there is a problem with power generation, then the least that the public deserves is a notice that there would be an outage for a particular period. Some time later, the power company may wish to offer a reason.
Indeed, we have come a long way since the days when we were forced to publish load-shedding guides; when we were not even guaranteed as much as eight hours of electricity per day. Those were the days when the generating plants were collapsing like nine pins, and securing their replacement was an exercise nothing short of miraculous.
Given that we have adapted to a lifestyle that is akin to a lifestyle in the developed world, with television sets and some of the most sophisticated electrical appliances, we know for sure that it is all but impossible to live without electricity. We are even building homes and offices that would be useless if there is no electric current to help cool what are nothing more than ovens under normal conditions.
For our part, our dependence on fossil fuels has left us to the mercy of the fuel producers, who have a firm grip on both price and production. And given the constant upward movement of fuel prices, countries like ours may be hard pressed to maintain these payments, especially at a time when our prime exports are earning less and less, to the point that we were unable to maintain our bauxite industry.
Fossil fuel drives our energy generating capacity, and as the fuel becomes more expensive, to that extent would we have to hike prices. But this is easier said than done. Every increase in this country is greeted by moans and groans and talks of pay rises. For the government, this is a case of being caught in a vicious cycle. So the intention is to maintain stable electricity rates.
But that does not mean that the people should be disregarded. They should be informed of power outages, because quite often they are bent on making maximum use of whatever resources they would have, whenever they could. And more often than not, the use of these resources is dependent on electricity.
For this reason alone, the power company owes it to people to inform them that supplies would be removed. One could understand if there is a breakdown; no one has any control of unforeseen circumstances.
The past few days saw daily outages lasting no less than five hours at a stretch. We suspect that something is wrong, but no one is saying anything to us. If the truth be told, we in the media are also lazy, because we should have been among the first to query the reason for the outages.
We have taken upon ourselves to be the eyes and ears of the society. We are the people who should be the communication bridge between the decision makers and the people. In this instance, we have failed miserably.
However, this does not absolve the power company of any blame for not notifying us. So, we expect to hear a reason for the power outages.