Electricity consumption set to drop in Ramadan

Electricity consumption is expected to drop by 8 per cent during the holy month of Ramadan, as industries and institutions close down early, an official said on Thursday. As working hours during Ramadan, which starts this week, are reduced and many restaurants will close their doors, electric loads on the power grid are expected to drop by 150 megawatts, Amin Zaghel, National Electric Power Company operations department director, said yesterday. The government announced mid-July that working hours in public institutions will be between 10:00am to 3:00pm during the holy month of Ramadan. "The country's power grid capacity can reach 3,000 megawatts. The highest record since the start of summer, 2,400 megawatts, was registered Tuesday," Zaghel told The Jordan Times yesterday. He underscored the company's readiness to deal with increasing demand for electricity, particularly during heatwaves. According to the Jordan Meteorological Department (JMD), the country will be affected by a heatwave as of Friday, forecast to bring dry and hot weather and push temperatures above their annual average. The heatwave, caused by a hot air mass originating from the Arabian Peninsula, is expected to peak Saturday, when temperatures will reach 39¼C and ease off on Sunday when mercury levels will drop to 36¼C, according to the JMD. On Friday, the weather will be relatively hot in the hilly areas and hot in the rest of the country. Temperatures will range between a high of 38¼C and a low of 25¼C in Amman, while winds will be northeasterly to northwesterly moderate, according to the JMD. On Saturday, hot and dry weather is forecast across the Kingdom, and temperatures will reach a maximum of 39¼C during the day, which is well above the annual average of 33¼C for this time of the year. Temperatures are expected to drop to a minimum of 24¼C and winds will be northeasterly to northwesterly moderate. A slight drop in mercury levels is forecast for Sunday as the short heatwave starts to subside, but the weather will remain hot, with temperatures ranging between a high of 36¼C and a low of 22¼C, while winds will be northwesterly moderate. A gradual drop in temperatures is expected for the rest of the week, according to meteorologist Raed Rafed, who said temperatures will be around the annual average during this time of the year.