No more power cuts in RAK's Al Rams area

Fewa Director-General Mohammed Saleh during the inauguration of the new power station at Al Rams area.

The Federal Electricity and Water Authority (Fewa) opened a new power station in Al Rams area of Ras Al Khaimah on Sunday to meet the pressing demand and curb the repetitive power outage.
Mohammed Saleh, Director-General of the authority, said the Dh36 million station is the second in Al Rams area and has a capacity of 75MVA.
"The new power station will meet all the current and future residential, commercial and industrial needs of the areas of Al Rams, Kabda, Al Rahba, and part of Khor Khuweir area, reduce pressure on current stations and help find a solution to complaints about insufficient power and repetitive power cuts."
The major power station, which contains three transmitters with a capacity of 75MVA, six feeders and three switches with 33KV, will reduce pressure on the Old Rams Power Station, he added.
The authority is planning nine more substations in the near future, he revealed. "These will support the infrastructure and massive urban expansions in the emirate."
However, Saeed Al Marzouqi, a resident of Al Rams area, told Khaleej Times that they had a problem with repetitive power failure. "This becomes a big issue during the scorching summer temperature."
Hopefully, this will become history with the new power station, he added. "The problem is that when we approach Fewa to take action they said the municipality is the one concerned, and vice versa."
Reiterating the same, Ali Rashid, another resident, said the lamp posts and power cables in the key heritage town, known for major historic events, are in a terrible condition and need to be replaced.
Another resident, Ashraf Abdulbasit, said there should be enough power to meet the expansion in the town. "We are in need for more power to meet the growing needs of the area."
Saleh said the Fewa has nothing to do with any blackout within the emirate. "Renewing or replacing the old or damaged lamp posts is the responsibility of the local government." However, the authority has all the technical capabilities, materials and sufficient plans to handle the same, he pointed out. "Lack of coordination with the bodies concerned in the emirate hampers this."
Saleh noted Fewa has a plan to replace all the damaged lamp posts, yet it depends on the Municipality to send the locations where these posts need to be replaced.
ahmedshaaban@khaleejtimes.com