JEDDAH, 1 July 2003 — A major two-and-a-half hour power failure in the 380/110 transformer that feeds northwest Jeddah from the SWICC desalination plant hit Jeddah at 1.38 p.m. yesterday. It caused a loss of 540 Megawatts for the main network feeding northwest Jeddah and caused chaos in businesses and homes yesterday afternoon.
The Sawari supermarket on Malek Street, which has no natural lighting, was plunged into total darkness at the height of early afternoon shopping. Tills, air conditioning and lighting failed and staff guided shoppers to assembly points at the main exits. Traffic lights were also affected. Police patrols appeared swiftly at major traffic intersections. But in the maze of minor roads in the Al-Rawdah district, cars were gridlocked as police had been put only on main roads.
Consumers as far south as the Al-Hamra district were affected. “There was a brief flicker in the lighting,” said Saad Al-Ghamdi, who was visiting his sister in the Suleiman Faqih Hospital at the time, “but the emergency generators cut in immediately, so the hospital routine was unaffected.”
During the recent soaring summer temperatures, demands on the electricity supply have risen dramatically, with the greater share of the strain on the system coming from air-conditioning.
