Report on 'cuts' denied
KUWAIT CITY: The Ministry of Electricity and Water (MEW) will disconnect electricity supply of expatriates whose outstanding bills exceed KD 200, reports Al-Jareedah daily. The ministry has to collect a huge amount from these defaulters and will use the amount to carry out maintenance at its power plants, say sources. Also, it has set up the deadline of Oct 2007 for all citizens wanting to avail the offer of waiving off KD 2,000 from their outstanding electricity bills. Meanwhile, Electricity and Water Minister Eng Mohammed Al-Olaim has denied reports on the implementation of the pre-programmed power and water cut-offs indicating that the Ministry will issue an advisory in this regard in line with its policy to address the problem with full transparency, reports Al-Rai.
"The implementation of the pre-programmed cut-offs will depend on certain factors including increased consumption rate, which had put pressure on our power and water stations. We can, however, totally avoid the implementation of the scheme if the citizens and expatriates will strictly comply with the specified energy conservation regulations," Al-Olaim added pointing out that increased pressure on the water and power stations will leave the Ministry with no other option but to implement the pre-programmed cut-offs. Al-Olaim clarified the Ministry will inform the public about the scheduled cut-offs as well as the affected areas through an intensive media campaign in case the Ministry decides to implement the scheme.
Condemning the media for publishing unfounded reports on the pre-programmed cut-offs, Al-Olaim complained the local media had published reports on the issue without mentioning the name and position of their sources. He advised the media to refrain from publishing baseless reports as such an irresponsible act has caused panic among residents and citizens. Revealing that the energy consumption rate has remarkably increased, Al-Olaim said the Ministry is closely monitoring the status of Kuwait's energy supplies as well as the probable technical errors to prevent water and electricity cut-offs. The Ministry is also holding a series of meetings with the concerned authorities on the implementation of water and electricity development projects to address the escalating energy needs of the country.
© Arab Times 2007
