Global: Oil : future world shortages are being drastically underplayed, say experts
A leading academic institute has urged European governments to review global oil supplies for themselves because of the "politicisation" of the International Energy Agency's figures.
Uppsala University in Sweden today published a scathing assessment of the IEA's annual World Energy Outlook, saying some assumptions drastically underplayed the scale of future oil shortages.
Cuba: Cuba orders extreme measures to cut energy use
Cuba has ordered all state enterprises to adopt "extreme measures" to cut energy usage through the end of the year in hopes of avoiding the dreaded blackouts that plagued the country following the 1991 collapse of its then-top ally, the Soviet Union.
In documents seen by Reuters, government officials have been warned that the island is facing a "critical" energy shortage that requires the closing of non-essential factories and workshops and the shutting down of air conditioners and refrigerators not needed to preserve food and medicine.
Indonesia: PLN officials told to address power outages or lose jobs
State SOE Minister Mustafa Abubakar has asked officials of state electricity company PT PLN to immediately address the ongoing power shortage in the country, especially in Jakarta, or risk losing their jobs.
“I will discipline those who fail to meet the electricity crisis settlement deadline. I will also reward those who meet the deadline,” Mustafa said during a visit to the Cawang Baru substation in East Jakarta on Thursday.
Indonesia: Monopoly rears its ugly head
The state electricity monopoly (PLN) raised again its ugly head with more extensive damages as rotating power blackouts, previously limited mostly to areas outside Java, have now hit even the capital city, the center of political and commercial power.
PLN chief executive officer Fahmi Mochtar said Monday the rolling power outages in Jakarta and its surrounding towns, initially caused by the explosion of a transformer at the high-voltage transmission grid in Cawang in September, would continue until Christmas due to the technical problems at the Muara Karang power generation plant in north Jakarta.
Malawi: Malawi: Fuel shortage deepens
The country has for the past four weeks gone with empty tanks at fuel service centres, forcing vehicles to wait for hours on end in a quest to get fuel.
Officials from Petroleum Importers Limited and the Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority say they are doing all they can to pressurize officials at Beira Port to deliver.
Tankers of fuel remain stuck at Beira with loads of fuel while people adapt to living in the dark.
Nepal: Fuel shortage hits consumers
Shortage of petroleum products has hit consumers in the Valley as Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) failed to manage supplies amid dwindling import, which resulted from stringent depot safety policy of the Indian supplier and traffic jam along Birgunj-Raxaul corridor, the main import route.
Petroleum dealers said the NOC did not issue petrol to private dealers on Tuesday. On Wednesday, it distributed 225 kiloliters of fuel, which is three-fourth of normal daily demand, in the Valley.
"Almost all dealers in the valley were out of stock earlier on the day. Fuel was distributed only late on the day, building queues at the refilling stations," said Sharad Bhandari of Nepal Petroleum Dealers´ Association, flaying the NOC for not managing the import-related problem on time.
