The regime’s Yangon Electricity Supply Corporation and Mandalay Electricity Supply Corporation announced on Sunday that rolling electricity blackouts will be imposed across the country’s two largest urban centers starting Monday.
Power will be distributed on a strict four-hour rotational schedule—four hours on and four hours off—with municipalities divided into Groups A and B starting between 4:00 AM and 5:00 AM daily.
The regime’s Ministry of Electricity and Energy (MOEE) claimed the severe rationing is necessary to prevent a total electrical grid breakdown, attributing the deficit to surging air conditioning usage triggered by unseasonably high temperatures.
While regime media reports damaged infrastructure is being repaired while hydro and solar projects are being developed, regime authorities in Ayeyarwady Region enacted even harsher restrictions—limiting electricity to a “two-hour on, six-hour off” rotation, leaving residents with just six hours of power per day.
The compounding energy crisis comes amid severe humanitarian and economic strains across the country:
Extreme Heat Risks: The Climate Impact Lab estimates that over 1,000 heat-related deaths could occur across Myanmar between September 2026 and February 2027 due to intensified El Niño climate conditions. Medical patients, the elderly, and vulnerable families living in high-density urban areas face dangerous indoor heat stress without functioning cooling systems.
Crippled Local Economy & Basic Needs: In Ayeyarwady’s Pathein, Hinthada, Maubin, and Myaungmya, residents report losing power for over 14 hours daily since 2022—a situation compounded by total blackouts following the devastating March 2025 earthquake. Local shop owners and drinking water suppliers in Yangon and Ayeyarwady warn that prolonged cuts are driving up operational costs and causing widespread shortages of clean bottled water and ice.
Low Electrification Baseline: According to MOEE data, only about 28 per cent of households in Ayeyarwady Region have access to grid electricity, leaving the vast majority of the population without power for basic refrigeration or fans.
