KUWAIT: The ministry of electricity, water and renewable energy announced on Sunday brief but comprehensive power cuts that affected some 60 residential and industrial areas after natural gas supplies to power plants were disrupted. Electricity was cut to over 50 residential areas covering all six governorates, in addition to nine industrial and agricultural areas after several generation units at Subiya and West Doha power plants stopped production because of problems with gas supplies, the ministry said in statements.

Power supplies were restored to a majority of areas, the ministry later said on its account on X platform. The cuts were accompanied by a rise in temperatures to above 50 degrees Celsius in some areas, which combined with high humidity, mainly in coastal areas, to effectively raise the real feeling of heat. Weather experts said the country will be affected by a heatwave and high humidity for the next several days. Temperatures are forecast to drop slightly on Monday, but humidity levels will remain high.

This has increased power consumption, which has already been near production capacity, in addition to imports through the Gulf power grid. The consumption level reached close to 17,000 MW. The ministry said on Saturday that gas processing units of Kuwait National Petroleum Co came to a complete halt, strongly impacting the quality of gas supplied to gas-operated turbines in two power and water desalination plants.

As a result, the ministry said that it was forced to halt a number of generation units at Subiya and West Doha plants and resorted to a programmed cut of electricity to almost all areas. The ministry did not say if the programmed cuts will continue on Monday. This is the second time this year that the ministry has resorted to power cuts due to a massive rise in consumption due to soaring temperatures. Weather expert Issa Ramadan said on Sunday that Kuwait and the Gulf have seen some of the highest temperatures this summer.

The ministry urged the public to conserve electricity, particularly during peak hours from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm, by adhering to the ministry’s guidelines. It assured that any new updates regarding the situation would be promptly announced.