RAFAH PITCHED INTO DARKNESS AFTER EGYPTIAN POWER FAILURE

Rafah, 24 Jumadil Awwal 1436/15 March 2015 (MINA) – The Rafah area in the southern Gaza Strip on Friday plunged into darkness after the Egyptian power plant in El Arish completely stopped working.

A spokesman for the electricity distribution company in Gaza said that the electricity was cut off to the entire region of Rafah on Friday afternoon after the Egyptian power plant sustained a sudden failure, The Palestinian Information Center (PIC) quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting.

The spokesman added that the Egyptian authorities told his company that El Arish power station ran into problems and would fail to supply Rafah in Gaza with electricity, affirming that Egyptian cities also experienced the same problem.

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He noted that the power plant provides the Palestinian side of Rafah with 30 megawatts.

The Rafah area in Gaza, where about 220,000 residents live, suffered from frequent power outages during the past few days as a result of the considerable damage which the electricity network had sustained during the ongoing armed violence on the Egyptian side.

The power company in Gaza, however, has embarked on finding a temporary alternative of power source for Rafah through Khan Younis and other areas until the Egyptian authorities repair the damage.(T/P008/R03)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)