New Jeddah districts without electricity

Several new neighborhoods in Jeddah, Al-Mohamadia, the three Al-Marwa districts and Harmain 1 and 2, have no electricity.
Hussein Al-Amoudi, a resident in the third Al-Marwa neighborhood, says that he noticed that there was no electricity when he moved in more than six months ago, although light posts were installed on the street outside his house.
He discovered that his neighbors had already made complaints to the secretariat, the government agency responsible for street lighting in the neighborhoods. They had been assured that the electricity company would supply power as soon as possible but that it would take time, as other neighborhoods in Jeddah were experiencing the same problem.
Al-Amoudi approached the secretariat again but there was no progress. In the meantime, his family has endure darkness and depended on lighting from other houses in the street. “This is insufficient,” he said. “The streets have many holes and bumps, which pose a real danger to children in the neighborhood and to cars passing through. The secretariat needs to respond urgently, as electricity is a fundamental right,” he added.
An official of the Saudi Electricity Company said that the company has nothing to do with the issue and that it is the secretariat’s responsibility to ensure that residents have access to electricity. The secretariat is a subscriber and must authorize the company to deliver power to neighborhoods. The company connects the area to a power supply once procedures are complete.
Samy Nawar, an official spokesman at the Jeddah Secretariat, confirmed that the secretariat is the main government entity authorized to deal with the issue of street lighting. He said that the Department of Lighting is currently conducting an inventory for all major roads and side streets in the neighborhoods, including Al-Mohamadia, Al-Marwa 1, 2, and 3, Al-Harmain 1 and 2, among others.
Electricity will be delivered in coordination with the Saudi Electricity Company.
Nawar appealed to residents in neighborhoods currently without electricity to be patient and promised the area would have access to power supplies as soon as possible.