24 April 2026 By Ra Wa
MAWLAMYINE, Myanmar — Residents of Mawlamyine, the capital of Mon State, are reporting a sharp increase in power outages just 48 hours after the military junta’s electricity ministry publicly promised to extend power distribution across the country.
On April 22, the military-appointed Minister for Electricity, U Ko Ko Lwin, announced a nationwide plan to increase supply, claiming that regions outside of Yangon and Mandalay would receive at least 14 hours of electricity per day. However, in the days following the announcement, Mawlamyine has seen its daily power supply dwindle to as little as four hours.
The gap between official propaganda and the daily reality of the people has sparked widespread frustration. In Mawlamyine, the commercial and administrative hub of south-eastern Myanmar, residents say electricity now rarely arrives before 11:00 PM and only lasts for a few hours.
“It feels like they are mocking us,” a local social worker told MPA. “Ever since they said they would give us more power, the blackouts have become even more chaotic. But that is their habit—making grand claims without any basis in reality. We can’t even complain on social media for fear of being arrested, so we sit in the dark and endure.”
While the situation in the state capital is dire, conditions in surrounding townships such as Paung, Chaungzon, and Kyaikmaraw are reported to be even worse. Residents in these areas say they have been effectively cut off from the national grid for days at a time.
A resident from Mawlamyine’s Zay Kyo ward noted that the current junta’s attempts to rebrand itself as a civil administration have not changed its core lack of transparency. “They put on formal attire and titles, but they haven’t lost the habit of saying whatever they want, regardless of the truth,” he said.
The irony of the situation was captured by a local social media user in a Mawlamyine community group. “I had to share the news about the ‘increased electricity supply’ while sitting in the dark, soaked in sweat because there was no power for the fan,” the post read.
As temperatures soar across Myanmar, the lack of electricity has become more than a logistical inconvenience; it is a direct threat to the livelihoods of small business owners and the health of the elderly. For the people of Mon State, the junta’s latest “Power Generation Plan” has provided nothing more than a new layer of frustration to a population already weary of years of broken promises and systemic failure.
