The heat wave around the country has brought consumers' electricity demand near the limit of the power stations' generating capacity. The Electric Company therefore decided, as of yesterday, to shut down power to selected areas for 30-60 minutes at a time. Hospitals and other critical installations are not included in the shutdowns.
Shortly before 11 AM, an announcement by the firefighters asked people not to use elevators in the greater Tel Aviv area until 6 PM. This, for fear that an electric shutdown might trap people inside an elevator between floors. The Electric Company later joined the recommendation. Not surprisingly, many people continued to use elevators, and firefighters have in fact rescued over 100 people so far today from stuck elevators. The heat in the small cubicles became unbearable for some of those rescued, and they required medical treatment.
However, worse consequences have resulted from the need to cut back on electricity. A young driver from the Ta'nachim area, just southwest of Afula, turned onto the Afula-Hadera highway at an intersection that had been left without a working traffic light. The police say that the driver apparently became confused and did not give the right of way to a truck bearing down on the intersection. The truck hit the car, killing the driver and injuring his 17-year-old passenger.
Another accident occurred under similar circumstances near Yokne'am, in the Galilee, seriously injuring one person and lightly hurting two others.
Environment Minister Gideon Ezra gave special permission this afternoon to temporarily operate the Reading Power Station in Tel Aviv, even though it does not meet environmental standards. Its output is not expected to significantly affect the electricity supply, however.
Arutz-7 asked the Electric Company to explain why it could not inform the public in advance where and when it would cut electricity. The spokesman's office promised to return with an answer "as soon as possible." Efforts were to have been made to inform local radio stations in advance, but it is not known if these were successful.
Yesterday's outages caused 200 people to become stuck in elevators, and led to a number of traffic accidents. A 68-year-old man from Ofakim is still in serious condition after the electricity on his respirator was cut off yesterday.
Magen David Adom has announced a new campaign to teach the public what to do when stuck in an elevator on a hot day. Stickers with instructions will be distributed for posting in elevators across the country. MDA recommends that they be posted waist-high so they can be read by rescuers in a kneeling position.
Shortly before 11 AM, an announcement by the firefighters asked people not to use elevators in the greater Tel Aviv area until 6 PM. This, for fear that an electric shutdown might trap people inside an elevator between floors. The Electric Company later joined the recommendation. Not surprisingly, many people continued to use elevators, and firefighters have in fact rescued over 100 people so far today from stuck elevators. The heat in the small cubicles became unbearable for some of those rescued, and they required medical treatment.
However, worse consequences have resulted from the need to cut back on electricity. A young driver from the Ta'nachim area, just southwest of Afula, turned onto the Afula-Hadera highway at an intersection that had been left without a working traffic light. The police say that the driver apparently became confused and did not give the right of way to a truck bearing down on the intersection. The truck hit the car, killing the driver and injuring his 17-year-old passenger.
Another accident occurred under similar circumstances near Yokne'am, in the Galilee, seriously injuring one person and lightly hurting two others.
Environment Minister Gideon Ezra gave special permission this afternoon to temporarily operate the Reading Power Station in Tel Aviv, even though it does not meet environmental standards. Its output is not expected to significantly affect the electricity supply, however.
Arutz-7 asked the Electric Company to explain why it could not inform the public in advance where and when it would cut electricity. The spokesman's office promised to return with an answer "as soon as possible." Efforts were to have been made to inform local radio stations in advance, but it is not known if these were successful.
Yesterday's outages caused 200 people to become stuck in elevators, and led to a number of traffic accidents. A 68-year-old man from Ofakim is still in serious condition after the electricity on his respirator was cut off yesterday.
Magen David Adom has announced a new campaign to teach the public what to do when stuck in an elevator on a hot day. Stickers with instructions will be distributed for posting in elevators across the country. MDA recommends that they be posted waist-high so they can be read by rescuers in a kneeling position.