KUWAIT: The Ministry of Electricity and Water(MEW) has set up a call center to receive complaints and emergency calls from citizens and residents. The hotline number 152 is open 24 hours a day and seven days a week.

It aims to help residents who suffer from power outages all over Kuwait. Speaking to Kuwait Times, Ghadeer Quwaidi, Manager of the Electricity and Water hotline explained that the call center is connected to all the emergency call centers -water or electricity emergency. "Our service is fast a
nd we take follow up action to repair all the electricity transformers and the emergency centers," she said.

According to her, since the center opened a week ago they have received more than 1,000 calls in a period of 24 hours, "Not all calls are complaints; most callers keep checking if the number is right or wrong. Some people ask about the services that we provide. Callers want to know our working hours and the emergency centers we are connected to," Ghadeer said.

Speaking about services, Ghadeer explained that when the call center receives a call, the caller's number appears in front of the call center. The complainant says his or her name, and states the nature of the complaint. The call center refers it to the emergency center where the complainants reside.

The area from where we receive the most phone calls is Khaitan. This is because it is the area that has the most power shortages and we are doing our best to fix the problem there. Most people who live in Khaitan toy with electricity transformers and this is wrong and dangerous. They rewind it by this way. When the technician goes to the complainant's area, they find that the transformers have been vandalized," Ghadeer added.

She further said that power cuts in Abassiya will be taken care of in two days. The problem is from the transformer of Al-Omariya. Everything will be okay in two days. In her words, the most affected area is the Farwaniya governorate, "We receive the second largest number of calls from this area, but with the good team we have here, we help people and do our best to solve the problem. The emergency centers also help people by turning the power generator on for habitants who have experienced power shorta
ge," she said. On a final note, she expressed her gratitude to the Minister of Electricity and Water, Dr Badr Al-Shuraian because he supports the project and the call center. - Kuwait Times