Thousands of people were left without electricity for more than 24 hours, after an overloaded network caused a mass power failure in a densely populated area of Sharjah.Residents in several of the emirate’s industrial areas remained in the dark yesterday as to when the electrical supply would return to their homes and businesses.The power in Industrial Areas 1, 3 and 6, as well as Hamriya Free Zone, where more than 10,000 people live, went off at midday on Tuesday and remained disconnected late into yesterday afternoon.Last night, the Sharjah Electricity and Water Authority (SEWA) said that it was working to rectify the problem.However, business was almost at a standstill in Hamriya – the economic heart of the emirate – with factories halting their operations. Families were forced to flee their homes because of the lack of air conditioning.
According to the authority, the problem occurred because of a sudden breakdown at a major electricity plant supplying the affected areas.“We have started to implement the first phase of our emergency plan as a result of a sudden failure in one of the main power generating plants; the failure was caused by a malfunction in one of the main transmission lines overpowered by the large load it was carrying as the consumption in summer is high,” it said in a statement.
“We appeal to the residents to co-operate in this emergency by conserving electricity as the cost of electricity production is very high especially in times when there is a big expansion in residential and commercial buildings in Sharjah.”Supermarkets and grocery shops were among the worst affected, with food spoilt through the lack of refrigeration. The municipality voiced its concern about the possibility of food poisoning if shop owners were to return the spoilt food to the shelves.
Taqiudin, who runs the Jameela Supermarket, said he had asked his salespeople to throw away all of the milk, fish and other products that were affected by the lack of refrigeration.“It’s a bold decision but a painful one also to lose so much because these products make up most of our income, but it’s worth throwing them [rather] than poisoning a customer as the reputation of my supermarket is more important than a few days’ income,” he said.
Outside many of the residential buildings several families simply waited for the power to return; their homes were too hot for them to stay inside.Others sought refuge in their cars or stayed with relatives and friends in other areas. Imran Ali, from Pakistan, who lives in a building in Industrial Area 1, said he had moved his family to stay with his brother in Al Khan.“At around midnight we decided we had to go back home and sleep with or without power,” he said. “Our six-year-old was supposed to go to a summer camp in the morning; we also had to go to work and all this needed us to stay at our home.”
Yesterday Mr Ali’s family spent the day at Sharjah City Centre, to escape the heat. “I picked them up from the centre when I left from work and I had to keep driving them around in my car for some time. After I got tired of driving we decided to go back home and sleep without air conditioning,” he said.The situation was made even more chaotic after the blackout caused traffic lights to fail at most junctions and roundabouts, resulting in worse traffic than normal in the industrial areas.
Police were called to the affected areas yesterday, as motorists struggled to move through the heavy congestion.“What actually happened here was a real mess,” said Attallah Khan, who was stuck in traffic for more than two hours as he tried to reach his home in Sharjah.The traffic lights were finally restored by late yesterday afternoon.
Taqiudin, who runs the Jameela Supermarket, said he had asked his salespeople to throw away all of the milk, fish and other products that were affected by the lack of refrigeration.“It’s a bold decision but a painful one also to lose so much because these products make up most of our income, but it’s worth throwing them [rather] than poisoning a customer as the reputation of my supermarket is more important than a few days’ income,” he said.
Outside many of the residential buildings several families simply waited for the power to return; their homes were too hot for them to stay inside.Others sought refuge in their cars or stayed with relatives and friends in other areas. Imran Ali, from Pakistan, who lives in a building in Industrial Area 1, said he had moved his family to stay with his brother in Al Khan.“At around midnight we decided we had to go back home and sleep with or without power,” he said. “Our six-year-old was supposed to go to a summer camp in the morning; we also had to go to work and all this needed us to stay at our home.”
Yesterday Mr Ali’s family spent the day at Sharjah City Centre, to escape the heat. “I picked them up from the centre when I left from work and I had to keep driving them around in my car for some time. After I got tired of driving we decided to go back home and sleep without air conditioning,” he said.The situation was made even more chaotic after the blackout caused traffic lights to fail at most junctions and roundabouts, resulting in worse traffic than normal in the industrial areas.
Police were called to the affected areas yesterday, as motorists struggled to move through the heavy congestion.“What actually happened here was a real mess,” said Attallah Khan, who was stuck in traffic for more than two hours as he tried to reach his home in Sharjah.The traffic lights were finally restored by late yesterday afternoon.
Source: The National
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