Opinion | The crisis of fossil fuel power plants in SOUTH SUDAN

By Beek Mabior

OPINION – There is a serious growing crisis with fossil fuel power plants in South Sudan. The fossil fuel power plants are facing numerous challenges in respect to their reliability, maintainability, marketability and affordability in the Republic of South Sudan. It was initially thought during the time of their establishment that they’ll solve the electricity’s crisis in South Sudan but unfortunately they’ve become problematic in regards to their maintainability and affordability. They’re fueling more power energy crisis instead of providing permanent solution to the residents of Juba city and South Sudan at large.

Moreover, the fossil fuel power plants are entirely unreliable, unaffordable and difficult to maintain due to the expensiveness of their operational resources. The fossil fuel power plants will never sufficiently provide durable remedy for power energy that South Sudan desire in order to achieve her energy dream and national development in the energy sector. Additionally, our dearest South Sudan long for reliable and affordable sources of energy and the best energy sector to invest in it massively and permanently is hydroelectric power plus other clean sources of energy such as wind energy and geothermal energy etc. Furthermore, South Sudan need to rethink, plan, invest and build hydroelectric power dams across the country.

It is vital to find a lasting solution once and for all to our constant energy crisis. We need a long term solution for power energy crisis in South Sudan. In addition to that, it is crucial for our country to know that hydroelectric power energy is the only excellent option and sustainable remedy compare to the various fossil fuel power plants across our vast country which majority of them are dysfunctional as I speak.  And for instance, in the last few days; the fossil fuel power plant run by the Ezra Group, Juba electricity distribution company (JEDCO) Plus South Sudan Electricity Cooperation (SSEC) have cut power supply in most residential areas due to the reasonable challenges facing them in Juba city.

They’ve cut power supply in most areas not because they want to deliberately deny power energy to city dwellers in Juba city. But because of the unavailability of adequate operational resources and insufficient funding from the funders to keep the fossil fuel power plant running.  Additionally, if the fossil fuel power plant was hydroelectric power energy, it’d have been easy and less costly to run and sustain affordably. Also, it is much better to be in darkness for sometimes while working to find a permanent solution to power energy crisis than to have power energy from unreliable sources such as fossil fuel power plants that’re always on and off.

The fossil fuel power plants are outdated sources of energy that’ve been used in the past centuries and are currently unreliable and unsustainable in the modern era globally. So, South Sudan must wisely choose between non-renewable and renewable sources of energy if she sincerely needs to find durable remedy for her energy needs. Our country needs hydroelectricity that’ll be sufficient to fuel industrialization in the future. Fossil fuel power plants can’t adequately power industries in South Sudan let alone lighting up government agencies, humanitarian organizations, diplomatic corps, residential homes, businesses etc.

Additionally, we must build hydroelectric power energy dams that’ll adequately light up many industries in South Sudan. Moreover, South Sudan is rich naturally with various natural resources and we need power energy that will help in the manufacturing and transformation of those natural resources into various goods in South Sudan’s industries.  Our country needs to achieve industrialization and sustainable development in the years to come. And industrialization and national development needs sustainable, affordable and lasting power energy in order to achieve those national goals and dreams.

In finishing, South Sudan’s government and Ministry of Electricity and Dams should plan, invest and build hydroelectric power dams across the country. We need to embrace and acknowledge with total honesty that fossil fuel power plants aren’t the best durable solution for South Sudan’s power energy crisis.  And we South Sudan Environmental Advocates (SSEA) will continue to champion for reliable and affordable hydroelectric power energy in South Sudan.

We need hydroelectric power energy because it is environmentally friendly and its guarantee reliable and sufficient power supply in any country globally. So let build hydroelectric power dams in South Sudan instead of unreliable, unaffordable and unmarketable fossil fuel power plants.

The author is the National Project Coordinator of South Sudan Environmental Advocates (SSEA) and can be reach via Email: beekmabior2020ssea@gmail.com Web: www.sseasouthsudan.org.

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