Rabwa 5 and Al-Rabae districts in north Jeddah had to endure a 10-hour electricity blackout from Sunday night to Monday morning, resulting in many having to make alternative arrangements to break their fast and for air-conditioned accommodation. The humidity was at record levels in the city, making their homes as “hot as ovens”. Faced with the stifling conditions, many families with distressed children had no choice but to rent furnished flats or stay with their relatives. The residents have called on officials at the Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) to find an urgent solution to this problem. They said these power cuts, which happen periodically, have been costing them dearly. A source at the SEC said the emergency department at the company received thousands of calls from the residents of the two districts. He said an emergency team had been sent immediately to repair the damage. Rajab Al-Zahrani, a resident from Al-Rabwa 5, said: “We suffered from the power cut from Sunday midnight to Monday 9.30 A.M. Most of the families deserted their houses which became as hot as ovens. All the children started crying because of the stifling weather. The majority of the families moved to furnished flats and others stayed with their relatives.” “It also inflicted huge financial losses on us as all the foodstuff in the refrigerators have turned rotten. It should be borne in mind that families buy large quantities of meat and other foodstuffs because of Ramadan. The power cut has inflicted huge financial losses on us because of the huge amounts of money we paid for Ramadan shopping. This poses a crucial question: who is going to compensate us for these losses? This is happening at a time when the SEC is very strict about people paying their bills. If we delay payment for a month, it does not hesitate to disconnect the power.” Ahmad Al-Ghamdi, another resident, said: “I kept driving around aimlessly the whole night. Eventually I decided to rent a furnished flat to sleep because I was completely exhausted.” Naif Al-Dougi who resides in Al-Rabae District said: “The power cut started at 3 A.M. on Sunday until 9.30 A.M. the next day. We kept waiting for the emergency team to restore the current amid the unbearably high humidity and hot weather. We waited for more than 12 hours for the emergency team but no-one showed up. This left us no choice but to bring in an Asian technician. But he apologized and said the damage was at the main station, which is the company's responsibility.” Al-Dougi said this also raises questions about the company's ability to deal with emergencies.
