JEDDAH: The western and northern regions of the Kingdom witnessed repeated power cuts on Monday, one of the hottest days of the year so far.

Residents in affected areas, including Jeddah, Madinah, Makkah and Taif, inundated the Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) with complaints as the cuts coincided with year-end examinations and the ongoing football World Cup in South Africa.

SEC blamed severe weather conditions for the problem.

A sudden sandstorm that hit the region around 11 a.m. caused temperatures to soar to 48 degrees Celsius, far above average levels. “Some cooling units in a number of the major stations went dead as a result of the heat," SEC’s director for distribution and customer services in the western sector, Abdul Moein ibn Hassan Al-Shaikh, told Arab News.

He said the company had to divert power from some residential districts, including those on the outskirts of major cities. He explained that this was done in coordination with relevant government departments including the local governorate and Civil Defense.

Al-Shaikh said there was surplus power of 1,000 megawatts on Sunday. "But the high temperature on Monday obliged us to take some precautionary measures," he added.

Al-Shaikh said that the situation had been rectified by noon on Monday and hoped there would not be a repeat of the power cuts. He also apologized to affected residents.

SEC confirmed in a statement that eight turbines with a total capacity of 480 megawatts in the western region had stopped working because of the soaring heat. Sources in the company told Arab News that the affected units were programmed to stop functioning when they heated up to a certain temperature.

They added that the turbines would be reprogrammed to bear higher temperatures.

The Eastern Province too had power cuts, but not at the same level. "There were very few areas where we had to cut power. The cuts did not exceed five minutes in the worst cases," said SEC’s regional director Ahmad ibn Abdul Aziz Al-Dilaikhi.

He added that sandstorms and rising temperatures had caused power shortages in Hafr Al-Batin since Saturday, although the situation had returned to normal.

Students in Jeddah struggled to cope with the high temperatures as they prepared to take their final exams. “According to the presidency scale, temperatures reached 50 degrees Celsius on Monday. We made an announcement on Sunday about a possible heat wave accompanied by hot winds that will sweep northeastern and western parts of Saudi Arabia,” said Presidency of Meteorology and Environment (PME) spokesman Hussein Al-Qahtani.

Throughout Monday afternoon residents complained of the heat and reported temperatures in excess of 52 degrees Celsius. “Normally we stay outside of school after the exams are finished. We go for a late breakfast nearby sometimes. However, I won’t be staying out after school exams this time. The heat is unbearable today, especially when there is no place to stay,” said high school student Abdul Rahman Khalid.

The PME said the heat wave, attributed to a current of hot air, would continue for the next few days.