Seven Hours Without Power During Peak Heat: Fury in Yesud HaMa'ala

Residents of Yesud HaMa'ala are furious over a planned power outage by the Israel Electric Corporation tomorrow (Sunday) from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM, during a severe heatwave, for tree pruning. They claim families with children, the elderly, and the sick will be left without air conditioning, and that requests to postpone or split the work were ignored. The IEC said it is a significant safety issue, and the district manager promised the work would be completed in four hours instead of seven.

Residents of Yesud HaMa'ala are furious over the Israel Electric Corporation's announcement of a planned power outage tomorrow (Sunday) during the hottest hours of the day for pruning and maintenance work. The outage was scheduled to last seven hours, from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM, precisely on a day when a particularly heavy heat load is expected in the area. According to residents, the prolonged 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 IEC to postpone the work or split it over several days were not answered. The work is intended to prune branches that have grown near power lines. Residents argue that the maintenance could have been done in advance, before the vegetation approached the infrastructure in a way that requires a prolonged outage. They also criticized that the work was scheduled specifically on a heatwave day and in a community defined as a frontline community. "Would the IEC dare to initiate a prolonged power outage in Tel Aviv during a severe heatwave to prune branches?" residents wondered. They said the work could have been split, even at the cost of leaving work equipment in the community for several days. "What are parents of children, the elderly, and the sick supposed to do during the outage hours?" one resident told Walla. The IEC responded that this is a significant safety issue, including sparks and danger that does not allow postponing the work. It also said the district manager committed to residents that the work would be completed within about four hours, not seven as initially reported.