Hours in the Dark
Electricity rationing across Damascus and its countryside has widened sharply, with some areas losing power for most of the day. In Jdeidet Artouz, residents report nine to 10 hours of cuts against two to three hours of supply, while Sahnaya sees roughly eight hours off and, at times, more than 10.
Inside the capital the pattern is uneven: three hours on and three off in Masakin Barzeh, six hours of cuts in Tadamon, and five to six consecutive hours in the old quarters. In Jaramana, residents describe six to seven hours of cuts with frequent faults.
A Strained Grid
The state electricity company has attributed the shortfall to a drop in generation, saying several units are under maintenance and that generators at the Tishreen plant remain out of service. It pointed to a shortage of imported Azerbaijani gas needed to run power stations.
On 17 September it announced a temporary increase in rationing hours after four generation units went offline, and said normal hours would return once output recovered. It has not set a date for that improvement.
Costs for Households
The outages are pushing families toward generators and solar backup, raising monthly costs. A salon owner in Jdeidet Artouz said his electricity bill last month reached 1.8 million Syrian pounds (SYP), plus 600,000 for an amperage subscription.
A resident of the town of Tel said six-hour outages drain both battery and solar systems before power returns, leaving stretches with no backup at all.
Daily Strain
Shopkeepers describe three hours of supply against six hours of cuts as unworkable without private generators. A shop owner in Jaramana said the imbalance forces near-constant reliance on a generator.
A government employee in Sahnaya said service had deteriorated noticeably over the previous two weeks. The company has tied any improvement to higher generation rather than a fixed timetable.