Everyone in Namibia is hopefully aware by now that we will be facing possible power interruptions in the near future. ErongoRED as well as NorRED have recently informed their customers that they have put various contingency plans in place for load-shedding at Swakopmund, Walvis Bay, Henties Bay and up North. These contingency plans entail power cuts for hours a day during peak demand hours. Every second streetlight in Swakop-mund has already been switched off as part of the contingency plan.

In the mean time, customers country-wide have been urged to use electricity sparingly due to the general power shortage in Southern Africa. Nami-bians have been informed in no uncertain terms that the demand for power in Southern Africa is expected to exceed supply by 2007 and that Namibia is currently already operating at a deficit.

The ten-year agreement that Namibia has with South African power utility Eskom will also be coming to an end by the middle of this year.Whether Eskom will renew this agreement, considering the extreme power short-ages in the Cape, is up for speculation. Keeping in mind that South Africa will furthermore be hosting the Soccer World Cup in 2010, one cannot help but be seriously concerned about our future.

Namibia on its own will not be able to supply its 500 megawatts demand even if all its power stations are operating at full capacity. Furthermore it is estimated that it will take appro-ximately ten years to establish a new power plant and commission it.

Under these worrisome conditions it seems only wise to search for alter-native sources of energy to supply our domestic demands.

Urban Power Solutions is one of the companies that has risen to the challenge and is planning on providing potential customers with sufficiently powered generators to get them through this crisis with peace of mind. Their supplier has been in the generator business for many years supplying giants like Samsung, Haier, Siemens and Eletrolux with their products and exporting worldwide. The generators are certified by the ISO Quality System and the air-cooled products are fitted with the highest quality Bosch injectors, Japan NSK bearings and Taiwai pistons which, together with strict quality control systems, enables them to ensure the good performance of their products and to provide their clients with a one year warranty on main parts.Urban Power Solutions is recom-mending the 5KVA silent Diesel generator to its clients. This is an air-cooled, four-stroke, brushless, single phase (three phase optional) diesel generator with a maximum output of 5KVA and a rated output of 4.2kw supplying 23amps on 220V. Its 14.5litre fuel tank capacity is sufficient for a rated continuous operation of 7.5hours. It comes standard with electric start, a low oil shutdown mechanism, front plugs, wheels, handle and an additional protection cover. Urban Power Solu-tions highly recommends the optional bi-directional ATS (Automatic Transmission Switch), which ensures that your generator will switch on automatically when the power cuts out and switch off automatically when the power supply resumes. Clients are free to enquire about other generator options. Bank finance on generators is available.