Vip Grids

   Because of the poor state of the electric power-generating infrastructure, including the dilapidated Baluchaung Hydroelectric plant in Kayah State, which had been built with Japanese war reparations in the 1950s, electric power in Rangoon (Yangon) and other areas is intermittent, especially during the dry season. To obtain electricity during blackouts and brownouts, residents use Chinese- and Japanese-made generators, which are noisy, polluting, and sometimes undependable, or purchase electricity from those who have a reliable source. Intermittent power cuts do great damage to machinery, especially computers. However, high-ranking Tatmadaw officers and other VIPs ("very important persons") live in areas where electricity is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the "VIP Grids," which include Bogyoke Ywa ("generals' villages").