JEDDAH: The Saudi Electric Company (SEC) has taken steps to guarantee uninterrupted power supply to industrial companies in Jeddah, a company official said on Saturday.
“The SEC has found solutions to the supply interruptions experienced at Jeddah’s industrial city, particularly during the peak hours between 1 p.m and 5 p.m. The company has already taken steps to strengthen its infrastructure so that it is able to carry more high tension load than in past years,” Ali Barrak, SEC’s executive president, said in a meeting with factory owners at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI). The meeting was attended by Ulfat Qabbani, chairperson of the Jeddah Council of Social Responsibility, and other business leaders. Qabbani stressed the need for finding immediate solutions to the power interruption in factories as it causes huge losses to both industrialists and consumers.
“I would like to make clear certain things in the light of the recurring power failures. The government has been encouraging investments in the industrial sector, which plays the role of diversifying the country’s sources of income. Supply of power at the rate of 12 halala /kilowatt is a significant incentive for the industrial sector,” Qabbani said. She said 475 factories, particularly glass and plastic factories and metal plants, in the industrial city need an uninterrupted supply of electricity. She urged the SEC to investigate the root cause of the frequent supply interruptions so that short and long term solutions could be found.
Factory owners who participated in the meeting demanded the formation of a committee with representatives of the JCCI and the SEC to estimate the losses suffered by them due to frequent power failures.
