The sweltering heat felt around Eretz Yisrael over recent days continues, sending temperatures soaring. The unprecedented demand for electricity has placed a heavy burden on Israel Electric Company, prompting the utility company to call upon residents to limit usage as much as possible in during the hours of noon to 17:00.

In addition, IEC has announced there will be rolling interruptions in power as it struggles to keep the power stations operational but despite the efforts, there were interruptions in service that were not part of the planned cut backs. Utility officials however added they do not anticipate an emergency situation today, Sunday, 25 Tammuz 5772.

There were reports of equipment failure at the Rothenberg power plant on shabbos, resulting in outages. Senior IEC officials on Sunday warned that they expect the demand to exceed 11,000 megawatts later in the week, which will be a new record. At present, the utility is operating at an “orange” level warning but if the 11,000 mark is reached, that will change to “red” officials report. This would result in immediate power outages in areas around the country.

While temperatures in Jerusalem are expected to reach the low 90Fs on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, beginning on Wednesday temperatures are expected to climb closer to 100F. Temperatures on shabbos soared over 100F in many cities, including Beersheva, Tiveria, and Eilat. In Yerushalayim at 14:00 on Sunday, the weatherman reports it is 93F but it feels like 98F.

As the heat continues, IEC officials fear the power stations simply will not hold up under the strain of over a week of consecutive days with soaring temperatures.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)