Seven hours without electricity at the peak of the heatwave: Anger in Yesod HaMa'ala

Residents of Yesod HaMa'ala are outraged following an announcement by the Israel Electric Corporation regarding a planned power outage scheduled for tomorrow, Sunday, during the hottest hours of the day for tree trimming and maintenance work. The outage was planned to last seven hours, between 09:00 and 16:00, precisely on a day when extreme heat is expected in the area.

According to the residents, the prolonged power outage could leave families with children, the elderly, and the sick without air conditioning during hours when temperatures are expected to peak. They claim that requests to the Israel Electric Corporation to postpone the work or split it over several days were not answered.

The work is intended to trim branches that have grown near power lines. Residents argue that the maintenance could have been performed in advance, before the vegetation approached the infrastructure in a way that required a long power outage. They also criticized the fact that the work was scheduled specifically on a heatwave day and in a settlement defined as a confrontation line community.

"Would the Israel Electric Corporation dare to initiate a prolonged power outage in Tel Aviv during a heavy heatwave to trim branches?" residents wondered.

According to them, the work could have been split, even at the cost of leaving the work equipment in the settlement for several days.

"What are parents with children, the elderly, and the sick supposed to do during the hours of the power outage?" one of the residents told Walla.

In response, the Israel Electric Corporation stated that this is a significant safety issue, involving the emission of sparks and a danger that does not allow for the work to be postponed. It was further stated that the regional manager committed to the residents that the work would be completed within four hours, and would not last seven hours as initially reported.