Deir Ezzor – Obadah al-Sheikh
The city of Deir Ezzor still suffers from repeated power outages in most neighborhoods, while a continuous supply is observed in the areas where the homes of former officials of the ousted Syrian regime are spread.
Within the local communities, the continuous electricity lines are known as “supported lines,” due to their connection to leaders, officials, or individuals who were backed by the former Syrian regime.
More than a month after the fall of the regime, the mechanism for electricity supply in Deir Ezzor has not changed, prompting residents to demand equality in terms of electricity supply hours.
Demands for fair distribution
Huda al-Hussein lives in the al-Qusour neighborhood of Deir Ezzor, near the university’s presidency building, and her home receives only one or two hours of electricity, while her neighbors, who work in the university, judiciary, or local government, or are former security personnel, have continuous access to power, she stated.
Al-Hussein told Enab Baladi that the electricity authority does not cut power to government buildings or the university, and her neighbors have tapped into the power line supplying the presidential building, which has been exempt from rationing for years.
Al-Hussein believes that “it is unfair to distribute electricity this way” and demands “fair supply” in Deir Ezzor.
In the al-Joura neighborhood of Deir Ezzor, Ahmad al-Abdullah lives just meters away from the water authority, and he told Enab Baladi that electricity in his neighborhood is distributed unevenly. His neighbor, an employee of the electricity authority, receives power through a cable drawn from the water authority building.
He added that his neighbor previously asked him for five million Syrian pounds to secure a similar electricity line a few months ago, and although the regime has ended, things remain the same, as he expressed.
The situation is no different for those living near the postal authority, which has supplied over 200 lines of electricity to the homes of former regime officials, or to officers and members of the leadership in the Baath Party that ruled Syria, and employees close to the director of the authority.
A general problem
The electricity issue in Deir Ezzor is part of a broader problem affecting all Syrian provinces that were under the control of the ousted regime; power supplies are subject to extensive rationing, with some cities receiving power for only one hour a day.
The Director General of the Public Authority for Electricity Transmission and Distribution previously told the Syrian official news agency (SANA) that the damage suffered by power generation, transformation stations and electrical connection lines during the reign of the ousted Assad regime is “very significant.”
He added that the caretaker government in Damascus is working to rehabilitate power generation stations and transmission lines to enable the network to transfer energy.
He stated that two electricity generation ships will arrive from Turkey and Qatar in Syria, capable of generating 800 megawatts of electricity, which is equivalent to half of the current supply in all of Syria, which will contribute to increasing citizens’ access to electricity by approximately 50%.
He added that work is currently underway to secure transmission lines to receive power from the docking location of the ships and that the authority will extend power transmission lines from there to the nearest transformation station and connect them to the electrical network.