Yemeni electricity sector have been witnessing a dangerous crisis, mainly of the inordinate growth of population and increased residential and commercial activities accompanied with a stronger  demand for energy.

This has led the government to think seriously of tackling the issue and to solve the pending issue of electricity, especially when the country faces unprecedented critical shortage electricity supplies. Aiming to generate more electricity, the Ministry of Electricity announced its intention to generate electricity through by nuclear power.

However, this project was harshly criticized prompting the Ministry of Electricity to think of other means for generating power that covers for the increasing demand over it. Recently, the ministry announced signing an agreement with a British Company to generate electricity through wind tribunes.

Meanwhile, the government is working right now in a project aiming to generate electricity through gas and the project is to be inaugurated over the few coming months. The works are underway to link the power station in Mareb's Safer to the capital Sana'a.

Though the generated power from bloc 18 in Safer could not meet the actual demand of the country, it can slightly help and also save millions of dollars paid to a British company in return for its rented generates positioned in Al-Makha on the Red Sea.

Power cuts and black-out nationwide

In effort to reduce the load on the electricity's public network, engineers resort to cutting power on alteration across the republic, mostly in rural areas.

Mohammed Al-Omari from Ibb's Al-Sharaf area points out that electricity is cut on a daily basis, especially in rush hours, which is between 6 p.m. to 11 p.m.

In Ramadan, power was cut everyday and lasted 5 to 6 hours, sometimes more. The cut starts at fast-breaking time and lasts until midnight. Thus, people are forced to seek and keep traditional means of lighting fuelled by gas or Kerosene.

Electricity generators located in Taiz's Mocha or Aden's Ras Katheeb are very old and they are subjected to constant breakdown. Just last year, a flaw in power stations caused a blackout in most Yemeni provinces and this lasted for an entire day.

Experts expect similar black-outs especially when most generators are not  operative anymore despite constant attempts to maintain them, mainly because they are beyond their working age. 

No meters

A large number of Yemeni households consume electricity without having meters to count their consumption and they do not pay any bills. Most electricity projects are built in election seasons and, in repayment, the locals are exempted from having meters for years.

In some other areas, bills are randomly estimated and these estimations vary depending on the relation you have with money collectors. Once you have good relations with the collector, you will be charged less, according to some locals from Ba'adan district.

A tribal sheikh in Al-Dairi zone of the capital who preferred to stay anonymous, said that he has not paid a single riyal for electricity or water since building his house in the late 1980s, and none could dare to cut water or