JEDDAH, 2 September 2006 — Efforts are under way to restore power supply to the historic city of Badr in the Madinah region where three days of outage had caused untold sufferings to residents reeling under the simmering heat.
Badr Governor Ahmed ibn Nasser Al-Hussein expressed his hope that supply would be restored very soon as Saudi Electricity Company had installed new towers to replace those knocked down by strong winds on Wednesday.
SEC announced on Wednesday that seven electricity towers for a 110KV line supplying power to the city fell as a result of strong winds. The power cut continued through Thursday and yesterday, leaving life in the city to a sweaty standstill.
Residents of Badr and surrounding villages such as Al-Rayes, Al-Wasta and Al-Mufarraq had to leave for Madinah, Yanbu and Jeddah in search for cool places to stay until the problem is solved. Some families stayed in their homes hoping that electricity will be restored soon. Others visited their relatives to stay with them while some spent the night inside their air-conditioned cars. Fishmongers at a local market were seen trying to keep their stock cool on a dwindling supply of ice.
Marzook Abdullah, a resident of Badr, told Al-Madinah daily that the weather was unbearable without electricity. He said many of his neighbors had gone to Yanbu to visit family because it is only half-an-hour away.
“Some people went to furnished apartments and stayed there,” he added. “I cannot afford to stay in a furnished apartment. I just hope power will be restored soon.”
Muhammad Al-Subhi, another resident, said that electricity towers should not be built on valleys because strong winds and floods could destroy them.
“I invite the electricity company officials to stay with us and see the condition here for themselves,” he said, adding that he wished the company would provide generators while working to repair the damages.
Governor Al-Hussein said his office and the electricity company were doing their best to solve the problem. SEC was successful in providing electricity to some affected residential areas of Badr using another supply line as they received supply for two hours each.
Generators brought from the Royal Commission supplied power to some districts. Informed sources said the present generating capacity could meet only 20 percent of the city’s needs of 50 megawatts.
One Badr resident said the prices of ice had doubled from SR10 to SR20 per block, adding that there was lack of ice supply.
“We had brought three truckloads of ice but were sold off within a short period,” one supermarket worker said. Banks and ATMs in the city were also not operating due to power cuts. Dr. Abdul Hameed Al-Subhi, health director, said Badr General Hospital was not affected by the blackout. Police in the governorate were vigilant especially during night to prevent burglary and other crimes.
