‘250 electricity meters changed after Amman floods’

AMMAN — A total of 250 electricity meters in the capital have been changed following the heavy rainfall the capital witnessed in the past few days, an official at the Jordanian Electric Power Company (JEPCO) said on Monday. 

Amman witnessed heavy last Thursday that caused floods in several areas, killing four people, including two children. 

During the heavy rains, power disruptions were limited, said Hassan Abdullah, head of the electricity network at JEPCO.

“We had to change these meters because rainwater flooded basements and lower floors where they are usually located. The teams changed meters in several areas including Sweifieh, Shafa Badran and downtown Amman,” Abdullah told The Jordan Times over the phone.

The official explained that power cuts were required in several locations to enable other parties such as the Civil Defence Department to continue their work. 

He added that a limited amount of soil erosion and flooded cars caused damage to electricity poles.  

“On Thursday, we dealt with a total of 580 complaints, while on Friday, the number of complaints decreased significantly to 400. On Saturday, the number of complaints dropped further to 350. We deal with between 120 and 150 complaints on normal days,” Abdullah noted.     

The JEPCO call centre, he added, has 120 telephone lines and 60 employees, and these resources will be increased in the future. 

“On normal days, between 150 and 170 employees work in the areas covered by JEPCO as part of a shift systems, while on emergency days we deploy 1,600 workers — during the past few days, we only used half of the emergency number,” Abdullah said. 

JEPCO covers Amman, Zarqa, Madaba and Balqa governorates.

“The population of Jordan is growing, especially given the number of Syrian refugees in the Kingdom, and this has increased demand for electricity. The network is always undergoing development so that we can meet the growing demand,” the official added.