Intermittent power failures continue to hit parts of Dubai, especially in commercial and residential areas where electricity is needed the most.

After several reports of power outages in recent weeks, Mall of the Emirates was plunged into darkness on Sunday as a blackout affected the Al Barsha area.

Authorities have downplayed the incidents as "isolated" but warned the public to be wary of overextending their power supplies. Some residents, however, criticise that the power outages are inexcusable, especially in a bustling metropolis like Dubai, which relies heavily on power.

Have you experienced power failure in your area? If so, how has it affected you? Do you think the power failures in Dubai are justifiable? Or do you think they are damaging to Dubai's image as a booming city? How do you think should the authorities rectify the problem?

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We experienced power failure in Satwa last Thursday night and the whole of Friday. Power failures in Dubai during the hot summer season - for whatever reason - is inexcusable. Only people who have gone through the experience can agree on what an unbearable thought it is. We spent nearly 75 per cent of this time sitting in a shopping mall, and it was my son's birthday! The rest of the time we spent at home, it felt like we were being baked alive inside a very, very hot oven. The tiny tots couldn't understand why mama wasn't switching on the A/C. Every time we called DEWA, we were informed that power would be restored in an hour or two!
Deepa
Dubai

Frequent power failures - this is just going to ruin the image of this country. We don?t expect and accept power failures in the UAE. Also, how is it acceptable for people living in the tallest of buildings to come and go to their flats when we have these power failures? Something really has to be done to prevent this from happening.
Sahar
By e-mail

Power Failures give Dubai a bad image. It's not acceptable in the UAE because of the heat. I have experienced power failures before. Somebody took their children to the car to switch on the car?s A/C. When I reach the office after a power cut, I feel so tired and sleepy it makes me feel like taking the day off.
Rajesh
By email

Dubai has faced three power outages in the last week. These frequent failures can spoil the image of our booming city. As more and more buildings are coming up, Dubai needs to have the energy resources. I hope the matter is investigated to make sure these outages do not occur in the future.
Karthik
Dubai

In many cities power outage is merely an "inconvenience." In Dubai it is a "disaster!" Imagine living in a place with temperatures hitting F.115 and not having any air conditioning. This reminds me of the early 80s when power outages were frequent. The only remedy was to sit in a car, turn on the A/C and just drive aimlessly until the power came back on.
Jin
Duabi

Dubai and the UAE have developed infrastructure which is at par with many developed nations. As air, water and food are important for our survival, electricity too has become a necessity. Everything comes to a standstill without electricity. These frequent electricity failures can mar the developments of the nation and reduce the attraction of global companies who are now forming bases in free zones. It is high time that government should seek alternative resource to generate electricity.
Shobha
India

Dubai is becoming increasingly dangerous to residents, investors and tourists.  Power outages are increasing and during hours of darkness people panic. It is time to clamp down on all building owners and landlords to ensure that quality protective systems, which are tested and certified to international standards, are installed and then maintained properly for the life cycle of the structure.
Helmut
By e-mail

Does Singapore, Hong Kong or London have power outages at peak periods? How will the power system cope with all the "New Dubai" residential accommodation coming onto the market? Reliable power is an absolute necessity for any developed country. DEWA's answer seems to be that it is somehow the consumer's fault, not theirs. If more power generating capacity needs to be developed, then it needs to be developed as quickly as the rate at which Dubai is growing. Otherwise it will rapidly become an even more critical problem than it is now.
Nick
Dubai

Has there been any report as to how many hospitals were affected? Or how many cars, busses, ambulances, police patrol cars got stuck in a traffic jam that could have/had resulted form such an outage. The only cure to all these and similar problems is to stop playing the "blame game" and start accepting responsibility. The solution is to increase power supply in accordance with the consumption rather than to wait for the huge amount of real-estate/property development to cause regular and periodic power disruptions.
A Reader
Pakistan

I think the power outages in Dubai reflect a lack of foresight on the growing population's equally growing power needs. Dubai is building a lot of infrastructure but if it doesn't have the energy resources to back up all that development then what's the use?
Em
By e-mail

The power failure is happening due to short supply, where the demand is tremendously increasing and the supply remains the same.  If one tries to reduce the wastage and run our equipment on low wattage, we can solve these problems.  There are appliances on the market that give good results.
Kamal
By e-mail

3 major power failures have happened in Dubai in the last 7 days (Garhood, Umm Suqeim and Al Barsha) and still the DEWA officials claim that these are 'isolated incidents'. We are entering the peak summer months, I hope these isolated incidents don't occur too frequently.
Faisal
Dubai

The Power Outages are now becoming a norm rather than an exception. Dubai cannot tolerate this
AMH
By e-mail