Yangon factory owners complain about new power supply rate
Factory owners in Yangon Region told DVB that the regime’s Ministry of Electric Power’s new option for a non-stop “24-hour” power supply at a rate of 900 MMK ($0.21 USD) per unit, which was introduced on Feb. 1, is “not cost-effective.” Under the regular electricity tariff, factory owners pay between 150-500 MMK ($0.03-0.11 USD) per unit but have experienced “frequent” power outages.
“We can’t use generators due to fuel shortages when the power is out. So, we have no choice but to pay the new rate,” an owner of a factory located in Hlaingthaya Township’s Industrial Zone told DVB on the condition of anonymity. He added that the regular electricity supply coming from the Yangon Electricity Supply Corporation provides power to industrial zones for 18 hours per day—from midnight to 5 p.m. the following day.
The ministry introduced nationwide “planned load shedding,” or rolling power cuts, starting March 18 until June. Pro-regime media reported that electricity will be distributed in two groups on a rotating four-hour schedule between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. in Yangon Region. Burma consumes 4,664 megawatts of electricity per day but can generate only 3,600 MW—about 77 per cent of demand—according to the ministry.
Price of rice rises amid fuel shortage
Rice traders told DVB that the retail prices of one bag, approximately 50 kg, of premium rice increased from 160,000-190,000 MMK ($38-45 USD) and lower-grade rice varieties from 60,000-90,000 MMK ($14-21 USD) since the third week of March. They attributed the price hike to rising transportation and operation fees due to fuel shortages triggered by the war against Iran since Feb. 28.
Farmers told DVB that gasoline costs 10,000-15,000 MMK ($2.30-3.50 USD) on the black market to run harvesters as they can’t purchase enough fuel at the stations. Rice millers told DVB that mills operate on diesel with prices rising 5,450-5,680 MMK ($1.29-1.35 USD) per liter for regular and 6,085-6,805 MMK ($1.44-1.62 USD) for premium April 2-8, according to the regime-controlled Petroleum Products Regulatory Department.
It set prices for one litre of 92-octane gasoline at 4,625 MMK ($1.10 USD) and 95-octane gasoline at 4,780 MMK ($1.13 USD) on April 8. Edible oil traders also told DVB that palm oil cost as high as 17,000 MMK ($4 USD) in the retail market on March 31 although the regime-controlled Supervisory Committee on Edible Oil Import and Distribution under the Ministry of Commerce set the reference rate at 6,600 MMK ($1.5 USD) last month.
Zaw Min Tun faces corruption charges
Sources close to the regime in Naypyidaw told DVB that its former spokesperson Zaw Min Tun is being tried by court martial for “abuse of power and corruption” since March 25. He was dismissed from his position – held since the military coup on Feb. 1, 2021 – as the director of the regime’s Public Relations and Psychological Warfare Directorate on March 25 and replaced by his deputy Ye Yint Aung.
A regime source told DVB on the condition of anonymity that Zaw Min Tun holds no position in either the regime or its new Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP)-led administration, which won the most seats in the regime’s 2025-26 elections held Dec. 28, 2025 to Jan. 28. Another regime source told DVB that he was dismissed over an “unnecessary” disclosure regarding Min Aung Hlaing’s spinal surgery on March 23.
Zaw Min Tun has been absent from public view since March 25. The source added that he has also been replaced by Ye Yint Aung as chief of the military’s True News Information Team. The position as the regime’s deputy information minister remains vacant, as Min Aung Hlaing has yet to name a replacement for Zaw Min Tun, who is a graduate of the 37th batch of the Defence Services Academy (DSA).
News by Region
MAGWAY—Residents in Saw Township told DVB that a National Unity Government (NUG) court handed a verdict of the death penalty on April 2 to a man who was convicted of the rape and murder a 13-year-old girl. Saw, located 163 miles (263 km) northwest of the region’s capital Magway, is partially under People’s Defence Force (PDF) control.
A resident told DVB on the condition of anonymity that the convict, Min Min Soe, declined to post bail despite the court allowing him to do so. He was arrested one month after the crime was committed on Oct. 21. The victim’s family members held a vigil calling on the NUG to issue the death penalty on Oct. 26.
SAGAING—The People’s Administration Team (PAT) under the NUG in Depayin Township warned residents on April 4 to be alert for airstrikes by the Burma Air Force during the Thingyan festival April 13–16. Depayin, located 40 miles (64 km) north of the region’s capital Monywa, is partially under PDF control.
A PDF member in Depayin told DVB that they have a network to alert residents of incoming jets once they take off from neighboring Mandalay Region’s Tada-U and Meiktila Air Force bases. At least 29 civilians were killed in 51 regime airstrikes and artillery attacks nationwide during Thingyan in 2025.
SHAN—At least 160 people were either killed or injured during an explosion at a gunpowder production facility in Pangsang Township on Tuesday. Pangsang is located in the Wa Self-Administered Division and is headquarters of the United Wa State Army (UWSA) on the Burma-China border in northern Shan.
A Pangsang resident told the Shwe Phee Myay News Agency that the number of casualties is still being counted at the Chinese-owned gunpowder production facility and that a petrol station was located nearby, which may have added to the explosion. The UWSA is still investigating the cause.
(Exchange rate: $1 USD = 4,200 MMK)
Watch our latest DVB English News interview with Rohingya genocide survivor Yasmin Ullah, who filed a genocide case against Min Aung Hlaing in Indonesia.
