Power and Fuel Update

There are rumors that we may get electricity tomorrow but I don’t know if they are just rumors. There have been many rumors throughout this ordeal.

I believe the power issue has to do with the main power cable which connects Zanzibar to mainland Tanzania. There was actually a scheduled outage the day that this major outage began (12 days ago). When the power was turned back on after the scheduled outage the main power connection to the island was ruined. The only spare part they had was used during the scheduled outage. So to fix this particular problem a person has to come from Norway and a part from Japan. (This is only info that i have heard, not necessarily facts)

The island seems to have petrol. I keep hearing that the supply is getting low but it appears to be available to purchase. The larger problem has been with diesel. There continues to be shortage. There were a few days where there was no diesel available to purchase. Over the weekend it seems that specific companies started having access to a little small amount of diesel. The fuel issue is a serious threat because it could shut down generators that are able to pump the reduced amount of water into vehicles to be distributed. It could also shut down the transportation infrastructure including distribution of water. A couple of people that I know have already began to use vegetable oil in their diesel engines. Prices for local transport increased yesterday.
There are many shops and jobs effected by this outage. However the generator and mobile phone charging business is booming. Yesterday I went to a restaurant, who’s menu is normally extensive, and was presented with the option of chips or chips with egg (and the restaurant even had a generator). My friends and I gratefully enjoyed our chips. I am extremely thankful how easy going everyone on the island has been regarding no power.

The outage is not really a problem for me except the inconvenience of going somewhere to change my phone and computer. Friends filled up my water tank of Saturday night after it went empty while I was in the middle of bathing. I can’t use the refrigerator or bake the Christmas cookies which i wanted to deliver to neighbors. I have had the privilege of meeting some more people from the neighborhood who have come looking for water.