The Union of Municipalities of the Gaza Strip warned today, Monday, that the power station will stop tomorrow, Tuesday, due to the running out of fuel needed to operate its generators due to the Israeli occupation authorities´ stopping the supply of fuel since last Wednesday.
In a statement, the federation said that the fuel shortage threatens to worsen the electricity crisis, increase the suffering of citizens, and affect the services of the sector´s municipalities, which suffer from difficult conditions, and a scarcity of fuel needed to operate water wells, sewage stations and basic facilities.
He pointed out that the renewed electricity crisis will affect the quality of basic services provided to citizens, especially since municipal facilities and their work are primarily linked to electricity, at a time when municipalities are experiencing severe difficulties in providing the fuel needed to operate the backup generators to fill the deficit in the electric current.
The union´s statement said, "The water delivery service to citizens´ homes will be negatively affected, and the water distribution schedules will witness a clear confusion, given that the wells depend mainly on electricity, and the difficulty of delivering them to citizens in a manner consistent with the hours the electricity is connected to them, which results in a complex problem of difficult access Water for the upper floors. "
He pointed out that the power cuts for long hours will stop the work of sewage pumping stations to the treatment plant, which threatens a health and environmental catastrophe that will not be forthcoming, and municipalities may be forced to pump sewage water, unfortunately, towards the seashore directly without treatment.
He added, "Power cuts for long periods of time stress the backup generators, increase their breakdowns - because they are generators designated for emergency work and for limited hours - and decrease their lifespan, and multiply the problems of facilities that depend on generators."
He pointed out that maintenance work inside municipal workshops depends mostly on electricity and delaying maintenance confuses the service of collection, deportation, and solid waste treatment, especially since the municipal fleet of vehicles and trucks is old, worn out, and in need of permanent maintenance.
He noted that cutting off the electrical current doubles the spoilage of food, especially frozen ones, such as meat, poultry, fish, etc., which doubles the need to monitor food in markets and shops, which is one of the responsibilities of municipalities.
He stressed that all administrative work inside the headquarters and facilities of the municipalities depend on electricity, and the continuing crisis of power cuts negatively affects the completion of citizens´ transactions in the required manner and with the necessary speed.
The Federation called on all international and humanitarian institutions, the International Committee of the Red Cross and the free people of the world to intervene to protect the safe citizens in Gaza, and to lift the unjust blockade imposed on the coastal strip for many years, stressing the need for concerted efforts to find an urgent and lasting solution to this renewed crisis.
He warned of the continuation and prolongation of the crisis, which threatens health and environmental disasters in the event of their exacerbation, appealing to the responsible authorities to provide the necessary electricity to operate the municipal facilities and stations.
