Households and businesses in Suriname complain that they can barely anticipate power outages because a fixed load-shedding schedule is lacking. According to information obtained by Key News, this is not only due to communication, but also to the constantly changing load on the electricity grid.
Many businesses and households are wondering why EnergieBedrijven Suriname, EBS, does not publish a clear load-shedding schedule to which they can align their work and daily activities. Key News has learned that EBS can determine which lines are eligible for disconnection, but cannot establish with certainty in advance how many lines actually need to be switched off at a given time.
The reason is that load shedding is directly related to the load on the electricity grid. When demand for electricity is lower than expected, fewer lines need to be disconnected. For example, if ten lines are taken into account in advance, in practice only four lines may be switched off because the shortage at that moment is smaller.
The opposite can also happen. When electricity consumption is suddenly higher, a generation unit fails or less capacity is available than anticipated, EBS may be forced to disconnect additional areas that were not on an earlier compiled list. A schedule published in advance can therefore become outdated shortly before or during implementation.
For Sherine, who runs a daycare centre, it is inhumane that EBS cannot produce a schedule. “I have children and babies being cared for here. I cannot plan, because being without electricity for three to four hours with little children in this heat is inhumane. I also cannot call the children’s parents at short notice to pick them up,” the entrepreneur complains.
Why a load-shedding schedule is difficult to establish
EBS reported on 25 August that electricity consumption has risen more sharply than forecast in recent weeks. According to the company, there was already barely any room in available generation capacity before that increase. There is currently no reserve capacity available, meaning unexpected disruptions or technical failures can immediately increase the need for disconnections. EBS explains the situation in an official statement on increased energy consumption.
This means that the grid operator must determine, based on the current load, how much capacity must be removed from the system to prevent the electricity grid from becoming unstable. In that situation, a load-shedding schedule can at most provide an indication, but no guarantee that exactly the same neighbourhoods will be without power at exactly the same times.
Criticism of EBS communication is growing
It is precisely this uncertainty that is causing increasing frustration. Entrepreneurs say they find it difficult to plan staff, production processes, refrigeration, internet connections and customers when it is unclear when the power will go out. Households also say they need timely information to take account of cooking, working from home and other daily needs.
Anand Kalpoe, director of the Energy Authority Suriname, has also indicated that communication surrounding load shedding could be improved. He considers a pre-published disconnection schedule desirable, so that citizens and businesses have more certainty. At the same time, he acknowledges that fluctuations in the load make it difficult to always implement such a schedule exactly.
A schedule provides guidance, but the load on the grid ultimately determines which lines are disconnected.
A load-shedding schedule does not exempt EBS from its communication obligation
The fact that a load-shedding schedule cannot always be implemented exactly for technical reasons does not mean, according to critics, that EBS cannot provide better information. The company could, for example, work with provisional time slots and clearly indicate that areas will only be disconnected when the load makes this necessary, according to some of the criticism seen on social media. Changes could then be communicated as quickly as possible through the usual communication channels.
For businesses and households, even provisional planning can be valuable. “Even if the power does not go out at the time or date they indicate, I can at least plan around it. But at least say something!” Sherine says. The criticism is therefore not only directed at the absence of a guaranteed schedule, but above all at the question of how much predictability EBS can provide within the current technical constraints.
Criticism extends beyond the load-shedding schedule
Public criticism is now also focused on EBS planning and investments in new generation capacity. National Assembly member Jerrel Pawiroredjo stated in parliament that the state-owned company had not planned sufficiently far ahead. He said his greengrocer can plan better than EBS and asked why growing electricity demand had not led to concrete investments earlier. Key News previously reported extensively on this criticism of EBS.
The Energy Authority Suriname also points out that the current shortage did not arise suddenly. According to Kalpoe, Suriname faces an estimated shortage of 60 to 80 megawatts in generation capacity. Demand for electricity has grown in recent years, while new generation capacity has not been added at the same pace. Structurally new capacity may moreover only become available in one to two years.
Energy crisis requires structural choices
Vice President Gregory Rusland has also indicated that the problems within the electricity sector did not arise suddenly. He wants to speak with EBS again about available capacity, investment plans and the measures needed to prevent future shortages. This increasingly shifts the discussion away from emergency measures alone towards the question of why necessary expansions were not implemented earlier.
The discussion about the load-shedding schedule thus exposes a larger problem. Even if EBS were to publish a plan daily, the underlying shortage would remain. As long as there is insufficient reserve capacity, unexpected disruptions or peaks in consumption may result in more areas having to be disconnected than initially planned.
More generation and reserve capacity needed
The Energy Authority Suriname therefore advocates implementation of the Electricity Sector Plan, which addresses, among other things, the expansion of generation capacity, maintenance, reserve capacity and strengthening of grid infrastructure. According to the regulator, energy conservation during a crisis must not become a substitute for investment, planning and regulation. Read more here about the Electricity Sector Plan and the EAS warnings.
For businesses, the current situation is more than just an inconvenience. An unexpected power outage can lead to production losses, equipment damage, problems with refrigerated products and additional costs for generators and fuel. Small entrepreneurs without backup power may even have to halt their operations entirely.
