Okaz/Saudi Gazette MAKKAH — Power has been cut from Al-Sharaie 2 neighborhood in Makkah since Wednesday, residents said criticizing the temporary solutions introduced by the Saudi Electricity Company (SEC). The residents said electricity supply was severed as a result of a default in one of the cables supplying the current to the ground connections. They said, in addition to the scorching heat, the absence of electricity has adversely affected all their electric equipment and damaged foodstuffs stored in refrigerators. Abdul Rahman Al-Solaimani, a resident, said life has become miserable due to the power cut which has continued for six days. "My sick wife could not bear the heat inside the house as the air conditioners are not working," he said. Solaimani asked the SEC to make permanent solutions to the problem instead of its temporary measures that proved to be futile. He said they informed the company of the power cut via its emergency toll-free number but there was no response. "The problem is further aggravating because it coincided with the examination season. I will hold the electricity company responsible if my children did not do well in their final examinations," Mohammed Al-Raqeeb said. Raqeeb said he took his family to a rented apartment because water was also cut as the pump raising water from the ground reservoir to the tank on the roof cannot be operated as a result of the power cut. Mishaal Al-Moneimi Al-Sharif said the meat he had bought and put in the fridge got rotten. "I lost all the money I spent on buying the sheep because of the power outage," he said. Raddah Al-Dhiyabi strongly criticized the action taken by the SEC, which brought a generator that works for four hours only before it gets stuck due to a lack of fuel. He said the employee in charge of the generator needs at least 45 minutes to get the fuel from the company's depot in Al-Umrah district. "After supplied with the fuel, the generator requires four hours to heat up and start working again," he said. Walid Al-Ghamdi, the company's director in Makkah, said they were trying their level best to provide electricity to all the residents of the holy city. He attributed the power cut in Al-Sharaie 2 district to a default in one of the cables due to overload. The director promised to put an end to the problem soon and said in the meantime the company is using mobile generators to feed the district with electricity.
