10/12/07

this is an article i found on yokwe.net about what was happening a few weeks ago... systematic power outages are not fun. boo dependence on foreign oil.


MARSHALL ISLANDS: Ebeye Facing More Black-outs

Ebeye, one of the most densely populated islets in the Pacific, is without fuel to keep running its power plant. Since Wednesday, the local power company, KAJUR (Kwajalein Atoll Joint Utility Resource), has been running 4-hour shifts of power, rotating to the lagoon side of the island and, then, to the ocean side. Ebeye, the second largest urban center in the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), is only a quarter of a mile wide and a mile long, but home to 12,000-plus Marshallese.

There is no word as to when more fuel will be arriving at Ebeye. The other major urban center, Majuro, which is the seat of the RMI government, is also experiencing power outages.

The interruption of power, which limits water and sewer systems as well, greatly impacts the health and safety conditions of the island.

About 1,400 Marshallese workers travel about three miles by ferry to where the United States Army Kwajalein Atoll missile facility is based.

"All night long without power was a real blow to us workers because we didn’t get a good night of sleep, and yet we still come to work just like nothing happen the night before," a worker explained during last year's power outrages.