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29 March 2024

Power fails again in Sharjah

In a repeat of the May situation several areas went without power on Sunday. (SUPPLIED)

Published
By VM Sathish

Power failed in several parts of Sharjah Industrial Area on Sunday disrupting normal life and business.

Several areas in the industrial area faced power failure from 9am. More areas were subsequently affected.

Supply was restored by late afternoon in some areas.

Residents and businesses in Sharjah had gone through a series of power cuts in May with people having had to sleep in their cars and industrial units shut down for days.

Khan, an employee of Future Pack, a leading
 packaging company, told Emirates Business: “We had to stop production at noon as power failed from 1.45pm and was restored only at 4 pm." Four of his eight units in the premises remained closed for several hours.

He said the "frequent power problem is a major problem in the industrial areas.. Many industrial units in
the area are affected by frequent power problems. We did not have any power back up.”

Many companies still do not use power back up generators. “We got a power generator because there was frequent power problems and kept it idle for more than a week."

"Assuming that power supply has stabilised, we sent back the power generator only on Sunday morning. Within a few hours the power failed again,” he said.

The company which employs about 200 workers had to shut down the plant for two hours, which causes considerable financial burden.

“Many families living in and around the National Paints area are living without power from 9am to 5.30pm. We had a power generator for a couple of weeks but returned it when power the supply situation improved."

The power generator was returned since it was lying idle and it had a rental tab of Dh3,000 a month.

"Things are back to square one," said Abu Baker, a manager of a factory in the affected area.

Residents of many buildings in the area had to endure several hours without power. “Last time when power failed, we had to go and sleep in a public park. We are back in the same situation,” Baker added.

Another manager of a factory in the Sharjah Industrial Area 2 said power failed for two hours, disrupting production.

He said Sharjah Electricity and Water Authority (SEWA) officials were "very rude" and were unwilling to provide any information.

Power disruptions will lead to heavy losses for factories.“Our daily production is worth Dh30,000 but we will miss the target if power fails and need to spend money for renting a generator."

The monthly rent for a generator powerful enough to drive machines in his factory could be anything upwards of Dh18,000, he said.

Many residents in the Industrial areas have shifted their accommodation to Dubai or other places with stable power supply. “We went to take our afternoon break, but there was no power. We are fed up living in this place,” said an irritated resident.

SEWA officials did not comment and there was no response from the customer service numbers.