'Shots fired at power distribution feeder in Jafer'

AMMAN — The Electricity Distribution Company (EDCO) said on Thursday that unknown assailants fired shots at the power distribution feeder in Jafer area in Maan on Wednesday night. 

The incident marked the fourth such occurrence since the beginning of 2016, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

EDCO reported the incident to the concerned authorities and arranged the necessary preparations with the Maan governor to provide protection to electricity workers by badia forces, CEO Mohammad Al Mazaydeh said, calling for an urgent solution to the issue. 

The same power distribution feeder in Maan, some 220km south of the capital, was shot four times this year, causing blackouts in Jafer area and endangering the lives of technicians, as the shooting usually took place late at night, Petra reported. 

In March, EDCO — which covers the southern governorates of Karak, Tafileh, Maan and Aqaba as well as the eastern areas of the Jordan Valley — said a power cut occurred in Maan, affecting 400 subscribers, after shots were fired at the power distribution feeder.

During the shooting incident, a company crane was hit with stones. 

An official complaint was filed with security agencies. 

EDCO’s technical cadres at the time replaced the damaged power feeder. 

Similarly in February, a feeder was shot in Wadi Abu Khasharef area where there are around 550 electricity subscribers, and EDCO called for a solution to these repeated assaults.

Earlier this month, the Cabinet endorsed a new draft penal code that stiffens penalties in cases of violations of electricity grids.

Those who commit violations on electricity resources face no less than three years in prison and at least JD5,000 in fines, under the draft law.

The Energy and Minerals Regulatory Commission has said that it dealt with 7,220 cases of electricity theft in the first quarter of 2016.