Renk Station Power Cut Halts Business

This article was last updated on April 16, 2022

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The commissioner of Renk County, Mr. Guot Kur said the town has experienced difficulties after the technical problems within the general electric cable at Renk power station.

“We have a problem in one of the internal cable in the station. This has taken about five days. And really the town has suffered due to lack of electricity and we are experiencing very difficult situation,” said Kur.

Renk is the only lucky town in the far north of South Sudan which gets its electric power from Eresories dam from Sudan’s Blue Nile state directly.

Kur said they have asked Sudanese technicians to come and solve this problem claiming that the supply station is not handed over to South Sudanese authorities officially. Therefore the local authorities cannot involve themselves in.

“We called the concerned authorities Sudanese to come and solve this problem and they are hesitating because of the security of their citizens. However we have told them that we will protect the technicians that will come to South Sudan within our territory,” he stated.

He decried that the problem has affected people life in the town.

“People in Renk were used to electricity. Now their businesses are affected. The town has majorly depended on the public electricity that uses to serve for 24 hours. The hospital and other offices and homes are affected. And all the grinding mills were all connected to the public power. The situation is devastating,” he explained.

He added that because there is no more power in the town water network in the residential areas has stopped and a barrel of water shot up to 25 SSP with many families not able to afford it.

When asked whether the Sudanese technician will arrive soon to solve the problem he said, “I am not sure because they are also adding more topics on the issue.”

“Sudan is looking for about 2.28 million US Dollars, from us. This is the money for two years which we have been sending to Juba so that they can send it to Sudan in dollars. I am surprised when the Sudanese said that their money for two years is not paid to them. This money is in Juba. It is suppose to be sent directly,” he said.

Authorities in Juba according to the commissioner said the money is in the national ministry of finance and they should not put that money in their custody because it belongs to Sudan.