AMMAN — The Kingdom is expected to experience a “severe”
heat wave during the next few days. Experts warn that the rise in temperatures
places additional pressure on Jordan’s electrical grid, raising the risks of
malfunctions.
اضافة اعلان
According to engineers,
the summer season sees a rise in the demand on electricity, especially in hotter
areas like Aqaba and the Jordan Valley as users turn on air conditioning and
fans to fight the sweltering heat. Other home appliances require additional
load to function properly.
Engineer Hassan
Abdullah is the general manager of the Jordanian Electric Power Co. (JEPCO),
which is responsible for distributing electricity to four major cities in
Jordan: Amman, Zarqa, Madaba, and Balqa.
“The electrical loads
differ according to the season and are correlated with temperatures, especially
with air conditioning, which becomes necessary in the summer to fight the
heat,” Abdullah said in an interview with
Jordan News.
“The network is
designed to bear different electrical loads,” he said. “Any deficiency that
might happen in the network is due to tampering of electrical branches, leading
to an increase in malfunctions on these branches.”
“The network is
designed to bear the maximum electrical load. During hot and cold days, the
load reaches 75 percent of the total network capacity,” he added.
Engineer Sami Zaytoun,
the spokesperson for the Electricity Distribution Company Co (EDCO), told
Jordan News that “the electric system in Jordan is divided into three parts. First
are the power stations, second is the transportation system, and third is the
distribution system.”
He added that problems
with the electrical system sometimes arise in the summer, when electrical load
limits are reached and it causes problems in cables, electrical networks, and
transformers.
The May blackout
The heat wave and
subsequent stress it’s expected to put on the power grid comes after power
throughout Jordan was knocked
out towards the end of May this year.
Head of
the electrical engineering section at the Jordan Engineers Association, Malik
Amayreh, told
Jordan News at the time that one kilowatt hour costs the
Jordanian economy around JD2. Therefore, depending on the average rate of
electricity consumption on a normal Friday afternoon, the five-hour power
outage cost over JD15 million, without accounting for the losses of the medical
and trading sectors.
A
government press conference later in the day did little to answer most people’s
question about the outage.
Professor Samer Asa’ad at the Middle East University told
Jordan News at the time that no one could actually give a specific reason for
the blackout and “at this point, it’s all just guesses.”
An investigation
committee was formed, but has yet to release their report.
Conserving power
Zaytoun advised
consumers to use power responsibly, through tactics like like adjusting the
heat of air conditioners. He also suggested consumers use energy efficient
appliances, which decrease power consumption and subsequently lower consumers’ electric
bills.
JEPCO continues to
conduct regular checks, and maintains around the clock central monitoring to
respond to any complaints, Abdullah said.
“The company is
careful to expand the network annually to meet the demand on loads in the
short, medium, and long term, as a part of the investment, upgrade, and
maintenance plan. The company spends $50 million a year on two main operations,
which are upgrading and expansion,” added Abdullah.
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