A sudden malfunction in high voltage lines causes power and water outages in Latakia

Most areas of Latakia Governorate have been suffering from power outages and the cessation of water supply since the early hours of Sunday, August 10, due to an emergency malfunction in the high voltage lines supplying the governorate.

The Latakia Governorate clarified in an official statement that the malfunction affected the high voltage lines 230/66 kV, leading to the shutdown of 15 substations and power outages in large parts of the governorate. It confirmed that maintenance teams are working to fix the malfunction and restore service as soon as possible.

In the same context, the main water pumping stations in Latakia (Al-San, Jourin, Al-Sheir, Al-Jundiriyeh) have stopped working due to the power outage, which began around one o'clock after midnight. The governorate indicated that the water institution is making efforts to resume pumping according to available resources.

For its part, the General Electricity Transmission and Distribution Corporation announced that the electrical system in the southern region experienced partial blackout due to multiple factors, the most prominent being the severe heat wave and bad weather conditions.

The corporation published on its official Facebook page that "the high humidity and weather fluctuations caused the disconnection of high voltage lines in the central region, leading to the shutdown of generation units at the Jandar station and splitting the network into two separate parts."

The corporation also revealed a malfunction in the 230 kV line connecting Deir Ali and Al-Kisweh, which caused a severe shock to the southern region's network and halted the operation of generation units at the Nasiriyah, Tishreen, and Deir Ali stations. It added that "the significant rise in temperatures led to a decrease in the efficiency of generation units and an increase in energy demand, which increased pressure on the network."

It confirmed that maintenance teams are working on gradually restarting operations, taking measures to stabilize the electrical current, and apologizing for any unjustified service interruptions.

This malfunction comes amid a severe heat wave hitting Syria since Friday, with expectations that it will peak today and tomorrow, amid warnings about its implications for health and infrastructure.