Cash Power

I found myself pondering the necessity of the tiny light bulb in the refrigerator. The freezer does not have a light bulb and I am able to find things in there. Both are organized. Could I possibly do without the fridge light and retrieve perishables from memory and feel? As you can imagine, we have become hyper-conscious of our power consumption. For years I have done what I thought was my best to decrease our carbon footprint, but only now am I making a significant improvement.

There is a hydroelectric power plant that sits dilapidated with disuse. No one I have asked can provide a reasonable answer for the closing of the hydroelectric plant. Maybe during days of draught several years ago it did not generate enough power to keep it going. Here on Pohnpei, electricity currently comes from diesel burning generators. You can only smell the horrible stench of it when very near the power plant. Some off shore wind power would be ideal, but to date is just a dream.

Power is paid for in advance by giving the meter number to the teller at the power company and then typing the number from the receipt into the control panel of the meter. You can actually see how many kilowatts of energy are used per day and the red panel light will blink faster with more energy expended. Does the light next to the frowny face illuminate when you run out of power or just before? In our first house on Pohnpei, we would turn off the water pump when not in use and saved a lot of energy at the cost of annoyance every time we went to wash our hands.

We do not use our water heater or air conditioners, we turn off lights as we exit a room, we occasionally enjoy candlelight dinners (usually during power outages), our room light bulbs are fluorescents, sometimes our nightly story time is by flashlight, we have a propane stove/oven, and we rarely use the dryer, opting to hang our clothes to dry. Hanging clothes on our covered back deck reduces wrinkles and we don’t need to use an iron. Good thing, too, because while in my mind the phrase ‘domestic goddess’ is something to aspire to, this does not include ironing.

Electricity here is very expensive, but due to our efforts we have a comparatively low electricity cost at about $65 per month and at $0.56/kilowatt hour, we are using about 116 Kilowatts per month. There is one state-run company from which to purchase power known as PUC (Pohnpei Utility Company, AKA Cash Power). Cash Power has undergone strategic policy changes resulting in a 60% increase in the cost of power over the past year. It is a publicly owned company, which can be of great benefit to a nation’s people if and when said people have shareholders rights, votes and opportunity to elect board members. I suppose the second part of the equation is forming a protocol and forum for people to voice their concerns, votes and comments. It is easy to stand by while World Bank mandates (however good in intention) change in public services and utilities into for-profit machines incapable of hearing damages caused. A good business model is not interchangeable with a good social services or utilities model without harming the public to the benefit of the powerful. O.k., stepping off the soapbox…

[The congratulatory award display from Pohnpei to Cash Power with love.]

I find myself thinking of ways to reduce carbon emissions even further and looking at little things in a new light. We brought a battery back-up for the computer which displays the power draw of whatever is plugged into it. Luckily, a fan only draws 25 watts at each setting and I can have it blowing air on high without feeling the impulse to suffer through low speed for The Cause. I am thankful for the energy efficient LCD nightlights we brought, but in hindsight realize that we should have brought our LCD camping light and head lamp as well. Even though I don’t have a hair dryer, dish washer or vacuum here on island, I know there is still more I can do to improve our cost to the planet. We walk or carpool whenever possible and coordinate errands with other families as well. The clothes washer is safe in fulfilling its function – I don’t want to wash clothes by hand. The refrigerator and its tiny light are safe too. There is a limit to what I am willing to endure. I do still need to function in raising the kids, working on my projects, socializing and working my way toward being crowned a goddess of domestic wisdom amoung other goals.

Now tell me, don't you want to preserve this too?