In the Pacific island nation of Samoa, residents have been grappling with rolling blackouts for weeks that have plunged villages into darkness and caused major disruptions to businesses and daily life. <\/p>\n
On Upolu, the nation\u2019s most populous island frequented by tourists for its white sand beaches, some have reverted to using kerosene lamps at night and are struggling to keep their food frozen \u2013 as rolling power outages leave them without electricity for hours each day. <\/p>\n
Shelley Burich, who lives on the outskirts of the capital, Apia, said the power has been out at her place one to two nights each week, forcing them to use solar torches, lanterns and candles. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just about having dinner early and we go to bed early\u201d she said. \u201cWe\u2019ve just learnt to adapt and cope.\u201d <\/p>\n
Prime Minister Fiam\u0113 Naomi Mata\u02bbafa declared a 30-day state of emergency on Monday, acknowledging the \u201csignificant hardship\u201d the crisis has had on households, businesses and essential services. <\/p>\n
Power outages are not unusual for Samoa\u2019s 215,000 population, who often face disruptions from cyclones churning through the Pacific. But it\u2019s rare to see island-wide blackouts reoccur over such long periods of time as has been seen in recent weeks. <\/p>\n
Officials say there are a multitude of reasons: mechanical failures at a power station, faulty underground cables, extensive damage from a recent storm and the significant surge in demand for power over the past two years. <\/p>\n
Fiam\u0113 said the government\u2019s power provider, the Electric Power Corporation, has had to introduce power rationing on Upolu since March 16 after three key generators failed. <\/p>\n
Meanwhile, power workers are racing to repair the cable lines and five large electricity generators are expected to arrive on Saturday as a temporary solution, with permanent generators expected in August. <\/p>\n
The prime minister warned the crisis could result in a 16% drop in gross domestic product (GDP), the broadest measure of economic output, this year due to the \u201csevere disruptions.\u201d <\/p>\n
Chamber of Commerce President Fa\u2019aso\u2019otauloa Sam Saili called the power situation a \u201cdisaster\u201d for businesses. And it\u2019s not just the missed days of productivity. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe damage in equipment is very significant. 84% of our membership have identified this as a major issue,\u201d Fa\u2019aso\u2019otauloa said, which could leave businesses <\/strong>idle for long periods while waiting for repair or replacement. <\/p>\n Many of the country\u2019s major manufacturers and producers have been left grappling with failing key machinery, which were damaged by power surges during the sudden and unexpected power cuts, he said. <\/p>\n Fa\u2019aso\u2019otauloa said businesses urged the government to impose the state of emergency to allow greater economic support and called for the removal of \u201cred tape\u201d and tariffs on key equipment to help manufacturers amid the crisis. <\/p>\n The economy is heavily reliant on agriculture with coconut products, forestry and fisheries among the largest export earners. <\/p>\n Businesses have also been forced to temporarily close because of the outages. <\/p>\n \u201cEveryone is affected,\u201d said Gary, a manager at a restaurant in Apia. \u201cWe\u2019ve had to turn (customers) away more than once. Since the power interruptions began, we have had to close three times.\u201d <\/p>\n The restaurant is fortunate to have a generator on site, but even so, the costs to operate <\/strong>it <\/strong>have more than doubled since the power cuts began. <\/p>\n It\u2019s not just the cost of running the generator, suppliers are putting up their prices too, he said, calling the costs \u201cquite significant.\u201d <\/p>\n Finance Minister Lautimuia Uelese Vaaio said the state of emergency would allow Samoa\u2019s development partners to assist with the situation. It also allows the government to implement measures to manage the energy supply, protect public health, and maintain essential services, said Prime Minister Fiam\u0113. <\/p>\n The impact has hit everyone \u2013 from ordinary citizens to small businesses, schools, universities and large-scale infrastructure projects. Despite the growing frustrations, many say they have learned to adapt. <\/p>\n \u201cThe first few weeks were quite difficult,\u201d said Leilani Fruean, the manager of a local ice cream shop, called Scoops, in Apia. The shop has had to purchase deep freezers, also known as chest freezers, to keep serving cones. <\/p>\n Fruean said the shop now has a permanent power connection, by sheer luck of being close to the wharf, which has been prioritized for power. Even so, it\u2019s been hard to predict how each day will go. <\/p>\n \u201cWe can\u2019t really afford to close, especially after Covid and everything,\u201d she said. \u201cWe really try to open. Not just for us, but for our employees as well \u2013 just because the power is off doesn\u2019t mean they don\u2019t need money.\u201d <\/p>\n The rolling power cuts have also led to panic buying of candles, <\/strong>flashlights and lamps \u2013 leading to price gouging in some areas, according to local outlet, the Samoan Observer. Candle prices had surged to 25 Samoan T\u0101l\u0101 ($8) – more than half a day\u2019s pay for a minimum wage earner, the outlet said. <\/p>\n A general store in Apia called Indoors doesn\u2019t sell candles but sales representative Neci Lemo said they had \u201csold out of everything battery operated,\u201d when asked about the demand for lighting. <\/p>\n Like everyone, Lemo is frequently dealing with the power being out at home. <\/p>\n \u201cYou just have to be smart,\u201d she said, adding that it has been easier to plan for powerless days since authorities have begun issuing public warnings. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In the Pacific island nation of Samoa, residents have been grappling with rolling blackouts for…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15445,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15444","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailywashingtoninsider.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15444","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailywashingtoninsider.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailywashingtoninsider.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailywashingtoninsider.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailywashingtoninsider.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15444"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailywashingtoninsider.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15444\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailywashingtoninsider.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15445"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailywashingtoninsider.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15444"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailywashingtoninsider.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15444"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailywashingtoninsider.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15444"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}} Learning to adapt<\/h2>\n