Kuwaitis brace for power cuts of up to two hours as temperature soars

Gulf country is struggling to cope with higher demand for electricity as temperatures rise

Temperatures have soared in Kuwait, forcing households to use more power for cooling. AFP

Kuwait will carry out more scheduled power cuts, to help reduce demand for electricity as temperatures soar during the summer months, authorities have said.

On Friday, the Ministry of Electricity published schedules listing dates and areas where power will cut, during the peak periods between 11am to 5pm.

The power cuts will last for up to two hours if the need arises, it said.

“In light of the heatwave, may God give people patience with the rising temperatures, and may God help the sick, the elderly, and children during these power cuts,” Kuwaiti citizen Ibrahim Al Ghasham said.

“What is happening right now is the result of a lack of responsibility and poor planning. If a decision was issued to suspend classes in the last week, we could’ve saved so much electrical load across approximately 800 schools,” he added.

Reducing the number of electricity users is done through power cuts when demand for power approaches supply capacity, creating the potential for a dangerous imbalance.

Power consumption on Thursday hit 16,241 megawatts, surpassing the 16,000 mark for the second day in a row, the Kuwait News Agency reported.

"The scheduled cut-off time for each region will be announced one hour before the cut-off time through the ministry's official accounts on social media platforms,” authorities added.

Countries across the Middle East are experiencing a heatwave. Several have resorted to systematic power cuts to shed the loads on their grids.

In Egypt, the government has mandated daily power cuts as it struggles with an economic crisis.

Several areas in Kuwait have experienced power cuts since Wednesday.

The cuts on Thursday were limited to five areas, mostly industrial, compared to more than 40 residential areas on Wednesday, the ministry said on its X account.

The ministry added that malfunctions at the main power transformer in Salwa caused blackouts in parts of block 12 of the area on Thursday.

Salwa is an area in Hawalli province in Kuwait City, bordering Rumaithiya to the north.

“The electricity from today is cut off in the Saad Abdullah city,” said Nasser Al Shghban. "Our children, the elderly and the sick are suffering even during these short power cuts. In this hot summer climate, we’re in a miserable state."

Cars drive past Kuwait's main government electricity control tower, where a thermometer placed on the building reads 47°C, on Wednesday. AFP

Taken by surprise

Meteorological and environmental expert Issa Ramadan described Kuwait’s infrastructure as a “heat magnet” that needs further agriculture and nano technology to tackle its heat challenges during the summer months.

“The current asphalt and street tiles gain heat easily during the day and do not lose it in the evening,” Mr Ramadan said. "Kuwait need to seriously think about the construction of asphalt and tiles with insulating materials and colours that can reduce the temperature by up to 7 degrees."

Kuwaiti citizen Alia Abdulrahman said that her house in the centre of Kuwait City experienced two hours of power cut on Wednesday but was taken by surprise.

"I wasn't aware that there were planned power cuts. I grew up in Bahrain and Kuwait where sometimes the electricity shuts off due to power shedding. But if this continues for some time I'll have to plan ahead and spend it in a mall or public place," she said.

Kuwait’s Education Ministry has instructed primary school teachers to start their summer holidays earlier this year, from Thursday

Middle school and secondary teachers will begin their breaks on Monday.

The Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs asked mosques to switch off air conditioners 10 minutes after each prayer, while the Health Ministry ordered employees to switch off lights after working hours.

Abdulaziz Al Qarawi, head of the Meteorological Department at the General Administration of Civil Aviation, told the Kuwait News Agency that temperatures are expected to reach between 47°C and 50°C maximum over the weekend amid an expected heatwave.

To control the expected surge in power demand, Kuwait announced last month it signed short-term contracts to buy 500MW of electricity, including 300MW from Oman and 200MW from Qatar, during the summer months.