Aleppo – North-Press Agency
Ali al-Agha
The rationing of electricity has become a major problem for the residents of Aleppo, in northern Syria, as most of them have returned to activating their subscriptions to private generators, or what is known as "amperes", after they had previously cancelled them as a result of the improvement of regular electricity.
Abdulsattar Qalaaji, a resident of al-Sha'ar neighborhood, told North-Press that the situation of electricity was much better before the start of the partial lockdown, and "as a result of the improvement of regular electricity, I canceled the amperes."
He added, "the interruptions in electricity increased more than they were before the period of the ban, and they were not sufficient to charge the home battery, which forced me to return to the amperes.”
Samer Kola, the owner of a generator in Saif al-Dawla neighborhood, told North-Press that the owners of generators were afraid that the lockdown will lead to an increase in hours of regular electricity, which would mean a reduction in the number of amperes subscribers.
"But it was the opposite; with the beginning of the imposed quarantine, the hours of power's availability decreased, which caused 60% more amperes subscribers, compared to two weeks ago when a number of amperes subscribers canceled their subscriptions."
The general manager of the Aleppo Governorate Electricity Company, Eng. Muhammad al-Saleh, told North-Press that electricity in the city of Aleppo is good in this period, compared to the winter, in which the energy hours decrease more due to the overload and the overuse of heaters by the residents.
However, he indicated that the load increased during the partial lockdown days, especially at night, despite the closure of all markets and street lights.
Al-Saleh reiterated that factories, mills, hospitals, and water stations operate in this period more than they did before the lockdown, due to the increase in demand in all aspects of products, water, and electricity, in addition to the increase in family gatherings.
Since the implementation of the partial lockdown, the Aleppo Electricity Corporation has reduced the rationing hours for pharmaceutical laboratory lines to increase productivity, because the demand for sterilizers has increased as a preventative measure against coronavirus.