Sharjah: Sharjah experienced rolling brownouts on Saturday and early Sunday, disrupting electrical power supply to homes and businesses in some areas of the emirate, said authorities. A technical glitch disrupted power supply, a senior official at Sharjah Electricity and Water Authority (Sewa) said on Sunday.
Dr Rashid Al Leem, Chairman of Sewa, told Gulf News that excess power loading on some power lines lead to power failures for some residents.
In addition, some affected buildings could not endure the overload, he said, because of old electrical boxes in their homes.
The supply was restored after Sewa technicians fixed problems in some places while others still needed work to replace old and damaged cables with new ones.
Work continues to remediate the problem, he said, but will take some time.
Sewa are working to place temporary mobile generators in some buildings and areas where power was cut to supply them with power till their problem is fixed, Al Leem said.
He said that the power cuts were also due to inner problems in buildings where new modern additions have been added without notifying Sewa to make the necessary amendments.
Sewa technicians were working at problem sites and power was being restored in phases, he said.
Al Leem said Sewa held campaign to end the problem of random connections in the emirate and held sudden inspections so that old electrical boxes were replaced with new panels.
The campaign also sought to identify older cables and replace them with modern higher capacity power lines to homes.
Al Leem also said that people did not adhere to Sewa instructions to conserve power during peak hours.
He urged residents to switch off electrical appliances and use electricity in a rational manner.
Conserve power
Meanwhile, The Sharjah Electricity and Water Authority (Sewa) has chosen July 1, to hold the annual initiative ‘One Saving Hour’ from 2.30pm to 3.30pm.
The time selected to mark the initiative in summer during the highest peak hours each year coincides with high demand for power and water, according to Sewa.
Al Leem, said the aim of the initiative is to promote the conservation culture and raise the awareness of the community about rational use of electricity and reduction of toxic emissions.
Al Leem pointed out that the public is be urged to switch off all unnecessary devices during the hour.
The initiative is one of several launched by Sewa throughout the year to spread awareness among community members on conservation, protect the environment, and build a sustainable future for the emirate of Sharjah.
