Kuwait rolls out power cuts in 51 areas amid 50˚C heat
KUWAIT CITY, May 21: Scheduled power outages are expected to be frequent this summer due to soaring temperatures, which already reached nearly 50 degrees Celsius. On Wednesday morning, the power consumption index entered the red zone at 16,393 megawatts -- 363 megawatts higher than Tuesday's 16,030 megawatts. Given the rising electricity load; the Ministry of Electricity, Water and Renewable Energy has announced planned power cuts affecting a total of 51 areas -- three agricultural, five industrial and 43 residential The power outage will be scheduled with varying durations and the affected areas are listed on the ministry's website as follows:
- Agricultural areas: Wafra, Rawdatain and Abdally farms
- Industrial areas: Mina Abdullah, Subhan, Sulaibiya, Al-Rai and Shuwaikh
- Residential areas: Salam, Abu Futaira, Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh, Jaber Al- Ahmad, Rawda, Salmiya, Ras Al-Ardh, Al-Shaab Al-Bahri, Maidan Hawally, Jaber Al-Ali, Andalusia, West Abdullah Al-Mubarak, Sulaibiya Industrial Area, part of Sulaibiya Residential Area, Faihaa, Firdous, Al-Dhaher, Al-Naseem, Al-Daiya, Al-Jazeera Al-Khadraa, Abdullah Al-Salem, Sabah Al-Nasser, Shuhada, Abdullah Al-Mubarak, Egaila, Fintas, the coastal strip from Abu Halifa Roundabout, Al-Masayel, Saad Al-Abdullah, Hittin, Ardiya, Funaitees, Al-Qasr, Hadiya, Shuwaikh, Shamiya, Jaber Al-Ali, Surra, Mahboula, Farwaniya, Al-Raqqa, part of Al-Rai and Northwest Sulaibikhat.
The ministry explained that the scheduled power outage is due to a remarkable increase in electrical load, in addition to the ongoing maintenance work on some power generation units in preparation for their full operation this summer. It added that this measure aims to maintain the stability of the electrical system of the country. Meanwhile, sources from the ministry stated that the increased loads and the decision to resort to scheduled power outages are expected in light of the high temperatures and several production units undergoing maintenance.
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