KUWAIT: Lawmakers called on the government on Tuesday to take emergency measures to face what they called massive shortages in power production that could lead to catastrophic results. The lawmakers were apparently alerted by a limited power outage in two Kuwait City suburbs way before the start of the summer peak when electricity consumption is expected to surpass the 17,000 megawatts mark, resulting in a key deficit.

MP Abdulwahab Al-Essa warned in a statement on Tuesday that the expected supply from the GCC power grid may not be sufficient to meet the shortages, eventually leading to repeated outages. Essa repeated a warning he made a year ago in the National Assembly in which he showed that Kuwait will continue to face power shortages for several years. That warning said that the expected power production deficit in Kuwait will be 1,331 MW in the summer of 2024, about 1,444 MW in 2025 and 1,636 MW in 2026.

Essa said the public sector in Kuwait is “clinically dead” and incapable of resolving any problem facing the country, adding the next government should realize the magnitude and seriousness of the electricity problem and must take major technical decisions.

Electricity consumption in the summer of 2023 jumped above the 16,300 MW mark for the first time and estimates expect consumption to break the 17,000 MW mark this summer, depending on the increase in temperature. According to local media, Oman has agreed to supply Kuwait with 350 MW of electricity through the Gulf power grid and another Gulf state has offered 150 MW, which may be just enough to meet shortages.

MP Bader Al-Mulla said the power outages in Nuzha, Mansouriya and Dahiyat Abdullah Al-Salem before the start of the summer heat and before consumption levels soar is an indication of more bad news amid buying more power from the Gulf grid in the absence of a clear vision and a fundamental solution. He said after the inaugural session of the Assembly on May 14, he will submit a motion for a general debate over the electricity problem.

Former MP Omar Al-Tabtabei said the early power outage in Nuzha and other areas is a warning that a catastrophe could happen this summer unless the government takes urgent measures. MP Falah Al-Hajeri called for ending the school year early to save electricity, saying that teachers continue to go to schools until the beginning of June without any actual work because students are at home preparing for exams.

He said by letting teachers go home, some power will be saved, especially at the start of the peak months. Peak consumption months in Kuwait are mainly June, July and August, when the temperature soars to above 50 degrees Celsius. MP Abdullah Al-Mudhaf called on the government to present an emergency plan to face the situation, which could become catastrophic with the rise in temperature in the summer.