Pierre Sylva, The PRO of NAWEC
By Fatou Sillah
In response to the growing frustration from the residents of Manjai regarding frequent power outages, particularly at night, Pierre Sylva, Public Relations Officer of the National Water and Electricity Corporation (NAWEC), explained to Kerr Fatou that the root cause of the electricity crisis in Manjai stems from insufficient capacity within the current infrastructure.
Residents of Manjai have long voiced concerns over the unreliability of their electricity supply, an issue they have endured for over five years due to a faulty transformer. Despite repeatedly notifying NAWEC about the problem, community members claim that no tangible action has been taken to address it.
“The Manjai Transformer has over the years been creating some problems, and the reason that is happening is that, the transformer has been there for quite a long time now. It was installed when the area was not as densely populated as it is now. Many people move into Manjai, and they require electricity. Any time they apply for electricity, we connect them to the same transmitter when the capacity is the same. So it came to a point where the transformer was overloaded, and when that happens during the peak period in the evening, it trips off because it cannot accommodate everything that is connected to it, so because of that, our people will have to go and knock off the feeders to stabilize the transformer because otherwise it will not work and people will not get what they require from the electricity. This is why it is going on and off,” Sylva explained.
He further assured the public that NAWEC has procured new transformers and that the one in Manjai will be replaced within a week.
“As we speak, we have procured some transformers of larger capacity. At the moment, they are around Serekunda Police to also change their transformer, and from there, they are going to Manjai. We have a project that has bought transformers, and Manjai is one of those areas that we are going to look at and then put in a bigger capacity in the next one week,” he stated.
Sylva acknowledged the numerous complaints from Manjai residents, explaining that the frequent outages are a result of the transformer being overburdened during peak periods. He stressed the importance of preventing further damage to the transformer, which could lead to costly repairs or replacement.
“We have been receiving a lot of complaints from the residents of Manjai regarding the issue, and this is because, as I say, the transformer is overloaded during the peak period at night. We cannot allow it to provide electricity to everyone because it might trip off, and when it continues to do that, it might cause some technical problems where NAWEC will have to use a lot of money to either repair or get a new one. I am apologizing to Manjai for going through this nightmare for quite a long time, but I think we are almost at the end of making sure that the problem is solved once and for all,” Sylva concluded.