An RBS branch without power in the Aldurrah Centre Offices.
An RBS branch without power in the Aldurrah Centre Offices.

Businesses tally Sharjah blackout toll



SHARJAH // Businesses were counting the cost of Sharjah's power cuts yesterday as electricity was finally restored after three days of blackouts. Hotels without power were the worst hit. A spokesman at the Firdous Hotel said all their guests had checked out because of the recurring blackouts. Seif Mohammed of the Al Majjarah Hotel said the power failures had cost them more than Dh200,000.

"Before the power outage the hotel was full, the occupancy rate was at 100 per cent, but now it is completely empty," he said. Wholesalers and retailers were also suffering. Houshang Khonji, who owns a garment shop in the Sharjah industrial area, said he had lost about Dh35,000 in the past week while the power in his store was going on and off. "In the evenings we just closed the shop as no one can buy without lights," he said. "During the day few customers were patient enough to stay looking for clothes in a shop with no air conditioning."

Mr Khonji was affected at home as well. He had to take his family to a 24-hour hypermarket in Dubai to stay cool on the first day of the power cuts. On Wednesday night they went to the hospital in al Qassimi and sat in the reception area until morning prayers. "My children could sleep on the hospital benches as we sat with other affected families watching a television set," he said. Other businesses, however, were not complaining. Stores selling portable generators and lights did a brisk trade, as did hotels with power, and in nearby emirates, were booked to near capacity as families tried to keep cool. Petrol stations also experienced an upswing in demand as motorists refuelled to use their cars as rolling refuges.

Shoppers seeking both air conditioning and lighting were coming to see Faisal Ejjaz, who said his shop had sold more than a dozen portable generators in the past few days, far more than usual. He believed that any move by the Sharjah Electricity and Water Authority (Sewa) to announce when power shortages would occur and their expected duration would help him to make more money.

"The problem is that people keep on thinking that the power problem is being settled soon but it isn't," he said. "If Sewa could release a load-shedding schedule that showed the crisis would last for a week or more, many people would buy our generators." Anwar Kanana, of Kanana Electronics Trading in the Nabba area, said he had sold rechargeable lights worth Dh6,000 in the past three days. Those left in the dark were also stocking up on lighters, matches and candles at local supermarkets.

"It would take me more than a month to sell the same amount of lights without the power outages," Mr Kanana said. Hotels that still had power during the cuts elsewhere also did well. The Sharjah Rotana Hotel in the Nabba area was about 80 per cent full during the blackouts, well in excess of usual off-peak summer demand, as residents seeking to escape the heat checked in, said Tariq Hassan, its deputy director.

"We had more families checking in after their homes were left in dark," he said. The Ajman Beach Hotel was doing even better than the Sharjah Rotana, with 100 per cent occupancy on Wednesday as families fled their homes. "By 10pm on Wednesday the hotel was full," a spokesman said. "Our staff could just apologise to those families that kept coming in after that time." There was some hope yesterday after power had been restored in most of Sharjah. Most areas previously without power had their service restored by 9am following a long night's blackout in areas including al Nabba and Abu Shagara. Power was also restored to most of the industrial areas, which are usually hardest hit by the shortages.

Many residents rejoiced as their air conditioners and refrigerators began functioning again but remained sceptical of how long they would stay that way. "I think we shall have it for some few weeks before it blacks out again like it has done recently," said Ahmed al Hajj, 34, an Emirati resident of al Buhaira Corniche. Sewa could not confirm whether the crisis was over. "All areas have power today, that's all I can tell you," a spokesman said.

ykakande@thenational.ae

Ibrahim's play list

Completed an electrical diploma at the Adnoc Technical Institute

Works as a public relations officer with Adnoc

Apart from the piano, he plays the accordion, oud and guitar

His favourite composer is Johann Sebastian Bach

Also enjoys listening to Mozart

Likes all genres of music including Arabic music and jazz

Enjoys rock groups Scorpions and Metallica 

Other musicians he likes are Syrian-American pianist Malek Jandali and Lebanese oud player Rabih Abou Khalil

UPI facts

More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions

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Stamp duty timeline

December 2014: Former UK finance minister George Osbourne reforms stamp duty, replacing the slab system with a blended rate scheme, with the top rate increasing to 12 per cent from 10 per cent:
Up to £125,000 - 0%; £125,000 to £250,000 – 2%; £250,000 to £925,000 – 5%; £925,000 to £1.5m: 10%; Over £1.5m – 12%

April 2016: New 3% surcharge applied to any buy-to-let properties or additional homes purchased.

July 2020: Rishi Sunak unveils SDLT holiday, with no tax to pay on the first £500,000, with buyers saving up to £15,000.

March 2021: Mr Sunak decides the fate of SDLT holiday at his March 3 budget, with expectations he will extend the perk unti June.

April 2021: 2% SDLT surcharge added to property transactions made by overseas buyers.

Game Changer

Director: Shankar 

Stars: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Anjali, S J Suryah, Jayaram

Rating: 2/5

German intelligence warnings
  • 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
  • 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
  • 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250 

Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution

Other workplace saving schemes
  • The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
  • Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
  • National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
  • In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
  • Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.