Power cuts worsen in Cambodia

The power cuts that hit Cambodia are growing worse each year as more strain is put onto the country's system.

Several cuts per day are now typical and as the government there looks to improve the supply, more and more people are buying their own generators.

Ten years ago the system was reported to be fine by most users, but even with only a fifth of the country supplied with electricity, power cuts are common. Most restaurants are said to serve by candlelight through necessity not romance

In a report by the BBC, shopkeepers are complaining that refrigerators are cutting out, ruining products, as well as making for unreliable business for those that rely on power.

The system is reported to be running at full capacity rather than having the 15 per cent reserve recommended, which is partly used to explain why it fails so frequently.

At the moment, this is the coolest time of the year and there is a new power station being built that should come online in time for the summer months when air conditioning is switched on.

Tourism is popular in the region during this time, a market that helped drive the economy by 6.4 per cent from 2001 to 2004 as sites such as Ankor Wat draw in visitors.

However, announced today were plans for a hydroelectric dam to be built with China to provide 498GWh in four years' time.

Until then, tourists to Cambodia will probably have to face power cuts along with the locals.