The electricity load index continued its gradual rise, today and yesterday, surpassing the 12,000 megawatts barrier due to the high temperature, which recorded 41 degrees Celsius, according to the Meteorological Department, Al Rai daily reported.
Informed sources in the Ministry of Electricity and Water expected that loads will surpass the 13,000-megawatt barrier tomorrow, as a result of increased consumption with the start of official working hours in government buildings. In addition, with the increase in temperature, there could possibly be some minor faults found in the ground cables and overhead lines of the electrical distribution network.
All teams are ready to deal with any emergency failure to restore electricity swiftly, whether through backup diesel generators or quickly fix the defect.
It explained that “the highest consumption rate this year is expected to reach 15,677 megawatts, while the ministry has a total production capacity of 18,470 megawatts, meaning there will be a surplus of 2,793 megawatts,” noting the ministry’s readiness to handle electricity issues during the summer season.
In a related context, the rate of fresh water production exceeded the consumption rate by about 40 million gallons, as the ministry’s production yesterday reached 484 million gallons, while the consumption rate reached 442 million gallons.
The sources said that the surplus production is usually used to raise the strategic reserve, pointing to the ministry’s stock of 3765 million imperial gallons, which confirms that the ministry has strong reserves of fresh water.
