By Reagan Malumo KATIMA MULILO Katima Mulilo residents, used to frequent blackouts, blamed the Zambian power utility, and inexperienced local electricians who have of late experienced prolonged blackouts. The town was engulfed in darkness on Monday and Tuesday of this week, bringing everything to a halt as residents groped around in the dark. Though residents are used to the frequent power outages that ruin sensitive electronics, this week’s blackout was one of the longest, bringing life to a virtual standstill. Most business people were stranded as nothing could be done, and those who wanted to watch their favourite programmes on NBCÃÆ’Æ‘ÀÃ…ÃÆ”šÃ‚ TV could not do so because of the unavailability of power. Other town-dwellers had their power equipment blown up by electric shock and are worried qbouot having to pay expensive repair costs. Some are even devising plans to approach NORED for compensation. Meanwhile, according to NORED’s Marketing and Communications Officer, Frans Niikondo, the power shortage was caused by a burst in the underground cable next to the Katima Mulilo industrial park, which was accidentally disturbed by the digging that Telecom was doing in the area. He also accepted that the town was without power for at least 31 hours and 43 minutes between Monday and Tuesday. He said it is, however, unfortunate that some residents of the town lost their equipment in the process and that since the problem was not necessarily caused by NORED, it is difficult for NORED to incur the costs of damage done to their properties. He further said that NORED is always ready to refund people for legitimate claims if ever NORED is at fault. He also encouraged the residents that whenever their equipment is damaged, it is top priority to report the incident and complete the claim form, stipulating the date and time when the damage was incurred in order for NORED to investigate the issue before a refund can be made. One concern among the residents of the town is that power supply to Katima Mulilo is always “up and dwn” especially when it rains. They suggest that the only answer to the problem would be to install lighning-resistant equipment. Niikondo stressed, however, that the power supply to the town is controlled by an Automatic Recloser, which normally switches off the electricity once lightning strikes. He said this is done to protect equipment from being damaged by electricity and that it is always important for the public to ensure that their houses are fitted with earth leakages in order to prevent damage to their equipments by electricity.