Welcome to the hot place…. And its going to get hotter
The public power utility, EDL, has asked the Lebanese to be patient and not to resort to burning tyres and blocking roads in protest over the increased power rationing. We are also told that the austerity measures are partly due to exceptional pressure on the power grids of Syria, Jordan and Egypt, which we used to rely on to supplement our own grid’s shortfall at least in off peak hours.
Well, thanks to the exceptional heat wave (God’s hairdryer) striking our region and indeed many other parts of the world, everyone has their air-conditioning switched on and gobbling up the megawatts like crazy. The midnight to 6am power cuts are the worst, even private generator owners cannot keep up with demand as their generators overheat. Many switch them off after 12 midnight, which leaves people to sweat it out until the morning.
The heat adds to the normally high stress levels the Lebanese have to endure on a daily basis. But apart from the discomfort and irritability the unrelenting high temperatures are a cause for alarm on many other levels, not least of which on the agricultural and food security levels and on the health front.
The very young and the very old will suffer the most, already in Japan people have died when temperatures peaked at 37 degrees Celsius. In the next few days temperatures in the Bekaa valley will hit 41 and 42 degrees Celsius, a normal August day in Dubai! With few provisions for such an extended heat wave, many among the poorest and oldest will suffer and hospital admittances due to heat exhaustion and other complications will increase.
It is the Government’s responsibility to take immediate action and institute emergency measures to prevent a catastrophe. Distributing temporary emergency generators to the poor areas of the country to supply them with power is one measure that can be taken.
The heat wave is affecting everyone and its affecting their productivity and the economy at large. I have no idea of the number of tourists who have left the country as a result of the heat wave and the absence of essential services, partly because such information is kept secret from the public and the Press is usually discouraged from reporting on such matters. But I do know of a few friends and relatives who regret their choice of vacation destination this year.
The fault here, and indeed criminal culpability, lies on those who have suckled at the power utility tit since the end of the civil war, draining its resources, standing in the way of appointments and real reform, treating the company as war-booty rather than as a public utility. One Government after the other balked at tackling this issue effectively to the extent that most reasonable people in Lebanon today doubt seriously that Bassil can do any better. I tend to agree.
The rich bankers who finance the Government, the top officials in Government, the top management of EDL I am quiet sure do not feel the pain of the ordinary hard working man who has to get up and go to work every morning without fail.
For them there is no real sense of urgency, theirs is a ‘let them eat cake’ attitude that typifies officialdom’s response to almost every issue that affects the poorest and most hard working people in this country. But every people have a breaking point and the Lebanese have reached theirs I think. So EDL, if you have nothing to say that we want to hear, don't say anything at all, and, no, will not excuse your inadequacy.
Well, thanks to the exceptional heat wave (God’s hairdryer) striking our region and indeed many other parts of the world, everyone has their air-conditioning switched on and gobbling up the megawatts like crazy. The midnight to 6am power cuts are the worst, even private generator owners cannot keep up with demand as their generators overheat. Many switch them off after 12 midnight, which leaves people to sweat it out until the morning.
The heat adds to the normally high stress levels the Lebanese have to endure on a daily basis. But apart from the discomfort and irritability the unrelenting high temperatures are a cause for alarm on many other levels, not least of which on the agricultural and food security levels and on the health front.
The very young and the very old will suffer the most, already in Japan people have died when temperatures peaked at 37 degrees Celsius. In the next few days temperatures in the Bekaa valley will hit 41 and 42 degrees Celsius, a normal August day in Dubai! With few provisions for such an extended heat wave, many among the poorest and oldest will suffer and hospital admittances due to heat exhaustion and other complications will increase.
It is the Government’s responsibility to take immediate action and institute emergency measures to prevent a catastrophe. Distributing temporary emergency generators to the poor areas of the country to supply them with power is one measure that can be taken.
The heat wave is affecting everyone and its affecting their productivity and the economy at large. I have no idea of the number of tourists who have left the country as a result of the heat wave and the absence of essential services, partly because such information is kept secret from the public and the Press is usually discouraged from reporting on such matters. But I do know of a few friends and relatives who regret their choice of vacation destination this year.
The fault here, and indeed criminal culpability, lies on those who have suckled at the power utility tit since the end of the civil war, draining its resources, standing in the way of appointments and real reform, treating the company as war-booty rather than as a public utility. One Government after the other balked at tackling this issue effectively to the extent that most reasonable people in Lebanon today doubt seriously that Bassil can do any better. I tend to agree.
The rich bankers who finance the Government, the top officials in Government, the top management of EDL I am quiet sure do not feel the pain of the ordinary hard working man who has to get up and go to work every morning without fail.
For them there is no real sense of urgency, theirs is a ‘let them eat cake’ attitude that typifies officialdom’s response to almost every issue that affects the poorest and most hard working people in this country. But every people have a breaking point and the Lebanese have reached theirs I think. So EDL, if you have nothing to say that we want to hear, don't say anything at all, and, no, will not excuse your inadequacy.
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