Manama: A country known for its vast energy wealth just couldn’t keep the lights on — at least for a short while.
A sweeping blackout that struck the tiny but oil-rich Kuwait on Wednesday evening knocked out lights even at the international airport, brought out the amateur comedians on social media and got lawmakers on Thursday asking why so much of the Opec nation suddenly went dark.
Residents in the car-loving country reported unusually thick traffic jams caused by darkened traffic lights.
Emergency measures used to bring power back online following the outage included the use of an electrical link to the rest of the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council, which includes Saudi Arabia and other energy-rich Arab nations.
Engineers managed to get power fully restored within a matter of hours, but by then the jokes were already flowing.
“Is our oil gone? I’m contemplating getting my very first camel now,” wrote Twitter user known as SarahAlBusairi. Another user on the social media site predicted a Kuwaiti baby boom come November.
‘Unacceptable’
Kuwait’s lawmakers agreed to discuss the power outage on Wednesday night.
A request by the Minister of Public Works, Electricity and Water Abdul Aziz Al Ebrahim, to postpone the debate was initially accepted by some lawmakers at their regular session on Thursday.
However, under pressure from other lawmakers who opposed any postponement, parliament agreed to have the minister answer questions about what caused the blackout in several parts of the country, including the international airport.
“Delaying the debate over such an important issue until the next parliamentary session is unacceptable,” MP Saleh Ashoor said. “The minister should give us answers today,” he said.
MP Yousuf Al Zalzala said that the minister was aware of the reasons for the blackout.
“There is no need to put off the debate, particularly that the minister has all the answers,” he said.
The minister late on Wednesday told the Kuwait News Agency (Kuna) that power had been restored in all areas in the country, after the blackout due to a glitch to one of the land lines that affected Al Subbyia power station, which was transmitting 2,000 megawatts at the time.
Al Ebrahim said his ministry immediately activated the emergency plan, noting that the time of the blackout was between 7am and 8pm local time.
The minister explained that measures in the emergency plan included the use of the electrical link with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), in addition to the closure of Al Subbyia line station in order to bring the situation to normal.
He added that power gradually returned to the affected areas starting from 7.26pm, and returned completely to all areas at 10.14pm.
The minister apologised on behalf of the ministry to all citizens and residents for “this sudden blackout dues to circumstances beyond the control of the ministry.”
According to local reports, the blackout affected mainly Hawally, Rumaithiya, Salwa, Fintas, Bayan, Mahboula, Salmiya, Shaab, Khaitan, Farwaniya, Rai, the Fourth Ring Road and adjacent neighbourhoods.
Kuwait International Airport, seaports, hospitals and major malls including The Avenues and Marina Mall were also hit by the blackout.
Oil facilities, however, were unaffected.
Kuwait is one of the largest oil exporters in the 12-member Opec bloc, producing roughly 2.7 million barrels of crude a day.
— with inputs from AP
