Electricity restored to Renk’s Al-Ma’sara after year-long outage

2026-03-22 - 14:44

RENK, Upper Nile (Eye Radio) — Authorities in Renk County, Upper Nile State, confirmed the restoration of electricity to the Al-Ma’sara residential area this week following a nearly year-long power failure. Renk is the only town in South Sudan connected to the public power grid from the Sudan Ad-Damazin electrification project. This connection originated as an initiative to promote national unity before the 2011 referendum. The Director General of the Renk Electricity Station, Mabior Atem, stated that repeated transformer malfunctions caused the prolonged outage. He explained that after the primary transformer failed and underwent repairs, the operational load shifted to a second unit, which also broke down despite multiple maintenance attempts. To prevent future outages, the Electricity Authority plans to connect Al-Ma’sara to three transformers. “Currently, with the expansion, we have decided to connect Al-Ma’sara residential area to three transformers,” Atem said. “We currently have one and are awaiting the arrival of two more.” Atem acknowledged the role of local authorities and the County Commissioner in facilitating the transportation of the replacement transformer from Juba to Renk. The restoration efforts highlighted challenges with the existing electrical infrastructure. Atem noted that a shortage of concrete poles led residents to use iron and wooden poles, which compromised the stability of the power supply. “The shortage of concrete poles for connections led residents to use iron poles and then wooden poles, affecting the continuity and stability of the electricity supply,” Atem stated. The Electricity Authority announced an upcoming campaign to remove unauthorized and unsafe electrical connections in the area. Furthermore, officials are considering a contract with a private company to replace temporary iron and wooden poles with concrete infrastructure. These measures are intended to improve safety and ensure a consistent power supply for residents and small businesses in Al-Ma’sara.