Gaza power plant shuts down for lack of fuel

GAZA CITY: The Gaza Strip’s sole power plant shut down on Saturday for lack of diesel fuel, a Palestinian power authority official said.

Kanaan Obeid, assistant director of Gaza’s electricity authority, said the plant, which provides 25 percent of Gaza’s power, was forced to shut down due to a payment dispute between the strip’s Hamas rulers and the rival Palestinian administration in the West Bank. The power plant has closed down on several occasions in the past because of fuel shortages.

The Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority says Hamas is to blame for the crisis, accusing it of allowing tens of thousands of salaried Gazans not to pay their bills and thereby share in the cost of industrial fuel for the plant. But the Islamic movement Hamas has pointed the finger at the PA and accused it of worsening Israel’s blockade on Gaza.

Closing the power plant has added to existing chronic power outages at a time when temperatures regularly exceed 30 degrees C (90 F) and demand for air conditioning and refrigeration peak, forcing residents to rely even more on diesel generators. afp

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