‘Death of Taibeh’s two electricity technicians leaves town in darkness’

AMMAN — Taibeh Municipality in Irbid Governorate no longer has the resources to maintain its street lighting after its two technicians responsible for maintaining them died.

Taibeh Mayor Mohammad Qoraan said Thursday that the municipality could not pay its dues to the Irbid District Electricity Company (IDECO), so the company halted its maintenance of street lamps and replacement of light bulbs, according to the Jordan News Agency, Petra.

Until recently, two municipality technicians have been doing that work instead, but one of them died a few months ago while on duty when he fell off a lamp post, while the other died of an illness, according to Qoraan. 

With no replacement technicians available, nights are pitch black on Taibeh’s streets.

Qoraan noted that IDECO receives money from the municipality through the “garbage fees” it collects from residents, but this money is no longer enough to cover the municipality’s dues, Petra reported.

IDECO does not allow the municipalities to perform maintenance work on streets lamps to avoid causing potential damage to the grid, the mayor said, adding that Taibeh has been going around that to sustain the services presented to residents.

Qoraan called on the Ministry of Municipal Affairs to intervene and coordinate with IDECO — which distributes electricity to the governorates of Irbid, Mafraq, Jerash and Ajloun as well as some parts of Balqa — to resolve the issue. 

IDECO Spokesperson Hisham Hijazi said the debts owed by the northern region’s stand at around JD5 million, and IDECO is committed to paying the National Electric Power Company JD18 million monthly for the electricity it buys to distribute to its subscribers.

Hijazi warned that municipalities could risk increasing the power load or damaging the grid if they attempt to perform maintenance on their own, Petra reported.

Several municipalities, he said, have unpaid monthly dues to IDECO worth tens of thousands of dinars and are required to find a solution to repay the company and ensure street lighting services are maintained.