UAE | General
'Planned power cuts will help'
The prolonged power outages which have been going on for a month in the emirate are believed to have cost the emirate's industrial sector around Dh500 million, according to economists and industrialists who spoke to Gulf News on Tuesday.
- By Duraid Al Baik. Associate Editor
- Published: 22:53 September 15, 2009
Sharjah: The prolonged power outages which have been going on for a month in the emirate are believed to have cost the emirate's industrial sector around Dh500 million, according to economists and industrialists who spoke to Gulf News on Tuesday.
The figure is five times higher than the earlier estimate due to the frequent power failures in Sharjah since August 17.
The size and nature of the problem is still unknown as a result of an information blackout imposed by Sharjah Electricity and Water Authority (Sewa) related to the outages. The authority failed to announce a rationing programme that could have helped residents and industrialists manage the situation.
Owners of factories at Sharjah Airport International Free Zone (SAIF) said they could not understand why Sewa was keeping them in a helpless situation when it could give more information about why and when the electricity would be cut off.
"A lack of information about when the power problem will be over and how long it will take to resume supplies after each breakdown is killing the industries in the SAIF zone and Hamriya Free Zone. The damages we have incurred in the past four weeks could have been reduced by more than 50 per cent - had Sewa dispensed the necessary information it had to members of the public and industrialists in the emirate. Sewa should inform users about its rationing power programme," a general manager of an industrial firm, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Gulf News yesterday.
"A power failure lasted for almost 15 hours in the SAIF zone on Monday and the power went off at 1.30pm yesterday. We have no idea when the power supply will be restored to the zone and we can't keep our staff waiting in the warehouse until the resumption of energy. What we basically did was to ask our labourers to go home and rest," he said
The owners unanimously agreed that the productivity of their firms has declined by more than 50 per cent, with millions lost in the form of wasted raw materials due to the haphazard nature of the power failure.
This is the first time that someone from SAIF has complained about power outages in the free zone. It was believed that industries in SAIF were given priority in terms of supplying them with the energy they needed to ensure production was uninterrupted. There are around 4,100 businesses operating through SAIF with more than 200 factories with a total capital investment of more than Dh3.6 billion. The majority of investors in SAIF are foreigners, who enjoy full ownership of their investments.
The power outages have lasted up to 15 hours per day in some areas. The most affected parts were the industrial areas in Sharjah, but there was no indication about the situation in the free zones in Shajrah, which used to enjoy better attention from the authorities in the emirate due to the nature of the investments and the necessity of the industry in those zones for the emirate's economy.
The emirate's GDP recorded Dh72 billion in 2008.
"We are not asking Sewa much. And as professionals we know such problems can happen anywhere in the world regardless of the reasons that lead to it. We just want to know the timing of rationing plans and how long it will last," said the owner of a factory in Hamriya Free Zone, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Your comments
Power shortage is not uncomon in third world countries, but to experience it in a country such as the U.A.E. which could eaily use solar energy, is very odd indeed. The goverment should look into tapping this natural resource. If other countries can do it, I am very positive...the UAE can.
Lady Belle
Dubai,UAE
Posted: September 16, 2009, 13:38
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