Seventy thousand people in Taif say they intend to sue the Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) for the recurrent power outages that they claim have caused them extensive financial losses due to the damage done to electrical appliances. As compensation from SEC for losses incurred, they are seeking exemption from the payment of two months' worth of electricity bills. Over the past two days, some Taif districts have fallen into total darkness for up to four hours. Among other inconveniences, numerous people have been reported trapped in lifts. Despite blackouts in the districts of Al-Hawiyyah, Al-Wahsha, Al-Qamariyah, Al-Sirr, Al-Nuzha and Al-Shuhada Al-Janoubiah, members of the public did not fail to notice that electricity remained connected in the district of Al-Tawfiq where Hisham Al-Zeer, the head of the SEC Taif branch happens to reside. Al-Zeer apologized to the public for the power cuts and attributed them to a rise in temperatures in the western region and the resultant increased demand from parts of Taif. He added that an official SEC statement detailing the issues would be forthcoming. A source at the SEC in south Taif said, however, that the prolonged power cut experienced two days ago was due to a technical fault in a transformer which required five hours to repair. Further power cuts were experienced in Bahra and Hadda on Wednesday forcing students to vacate schools due to the high temperatures. The security presence was intensified in some areas following an increase in burglaries. Regions around Al-Qunfudha also had power cuts of up to four hours causing business to cease. An SEC official in Makkah said the cut was due to electricity generator maintenance.
