Sharjah hit by power cut after technical fault at gas plant

Air conditioning affected during midday heat

The power was cut for many residents in Sharjah's Al Taawun district on Friday. Photo: Ali Al Shouk

A technical malfunction at a gas processing plant on Friday led to power cuts in several parts of Sharjah.

Residents across Sharjah faced power cuts in the districts of Al Majaz, Al Nahda, Muweilah and Al Taawun on Friday afternoon.

Sharjah Media Office said the fault had been fixed, with power now restored.

"A technical malfunction in the gas factory in Sajaa area in Sharjah caused a power outage in some areas in the city of Sharjah. The defect has been addressed and the power has gradually returned," the media office said in a statement.

In a later statement, the media office said the technical fault led to the cutting of gas flowing from Sajaa plant to the power stations.

"Specialised teams were able to rapidly restore electrical power to the regions of Sharjah city after an unexpected technical fault occurred, leading to a disruption in the gas supply to the electricity generation stations," the media office said.

"A technical malfunction at the gas plant in the Sajaa area of Sharjah resulted in the closure of valves on the gas pipelines that supply the Sharjah Electricity, Water and Gas Authority's stations.

"This was due to emergency procedures followed at the gas plant, which directly shut down in the event of technical failures.

"The specialised teams proceeded to isolate the main valve that supplies gas to the electricity stations in Sharjah and were able to restore gas flow through it by 80 per cent, which significantly contributed to the complete restoration of electrical power.

"Efforts are also under way to address the primary technical fault and fully restart the gas complex."

Residents without power

Residents took to social media to report the power cuts that started about noon and lasted well into the afternoon, with residents left without electricity for air conditioning, refrigerators and water pumps.

One of those was Mohammed Hassan, 40, a Syrian who lives in a three-bedroom apartment in Majestic Tower Al Taawun with his wife and three children.

“The electricity cut suddenly around 1pm and came back after 30 minutes or so,” he said.

“I went to the corridor and it was dark and the lifts weren't operating.

“I called the building security but the number was always busy, so I tried calling Sewa [Sharjah Electricity and Water] but that number was also busy or the call just disconnected.

“I live on the 28th floor, so I felt trapped until the electricity came back on.”

Some areas were without power for an hour or more, others for only 30 minutes, with reports of children being stuck in lifts for a short time.

Tazeen Jafri, a PR consultant from Pakistan, was working from home in her apartment in Al Taawun when the electricity supply failed.

“Suddenly there was a sudden burst of silence as all electrical devices turned off, including my room fan,” she said.

“My first reaction was to locate my daughter and then run up the stairs to check on my elderly mother who had just jumped into the shower.

“I wanted to make sure she didn’t get startled and have a fall.

“I tried calling security a couple of times but failed as the network was down, too.

"When I finally got through, he said it would take about 30 minutes to restore power.

"It’s not uncommon for us to have these 30-minute outages but it’s usually in the night when everyone is asleep.

“This was one of those very rare moments when it was during the day when I’m usually working.”