8 July 2009
editorial
We are in the middle of winter and this time round, the temperatures are very low as evidenced by the single digits recorded almost every day. Unlike previous years, temperatures have remained cold for the better part of May and running into June. Of course these have not been helped by the occasional drizzle.
It is around this time that electricity consumption goes up. In a bid to keep warm, the use of heaters, air conditioners, geysers, toasters, microwaves, water bottles, electric blankets, heated pools and baths is quite common.
Unfortunately, the huge electricity consumption has been compounded by the energy crisis that we are facing currently. The entire Southern African region is going through a period of power shortages. The shortages that occur during low demand in the hot summer months have come back to haunt us in winter.
While no one can blame the power utility company for the shortages that we have begun to experience, we can however point an accusing finger at Botswana Power Corporation (BPC) for ignoring lessons of the past. In the past, BPC was criticised for not informing the public where and when the outages will occur. Since the power cuts were mostly planned, it made sense that BPC could inform the public about when and where they will occur. After an unnecessary struggle, the BPC eventually relented and issued a schedule to show where and when the power cuts will be carried out. This was helpful and we thought the corporation would engage the public in a similar fashion this time around.
Other than just putting their schedule on their website, which is very limited, BPC should go out on a blitz to inform businesses and the public about their scheduled power cuts.
Anything less than that will not only inconvenience the public, but will surely erode confidence in the utility to share information with customers. But most importantly, this indifferent attitude is highly uneconomic, as it will lead to massive losses for both business and for members of the public who rely on power from BPC.
We urge BPC to urgently look at various ways to inform the public about their scheduled power cuts. Surely, the lessons of the past cannot be thrown away just like that. In this winter, we expect BPC to be forever engaging with its customers on power cuts other than sitting back and hoping that people will understand.
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