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AMMAN — The load on the national grid on Sunday reached its highest level in winter, at 3,180 megawatts (MW) out of a total capacity of 3,600MW, according to the National Electric Power Company (NEPCO).

NEPCO Production Planning Director Amin Zaghal told the Jordan News Agency, Petra, that the highest power load recorded last winter was 3,160MW. 

The highest load on the national grid in summer was registered last August, reaching 3,200MW, Zaghal added.

Also on Sunday, the Council of Ministers received a report on electricity grid violations, according to Petra. 

The report also recorded 20 assaults on Electricity Distribution Company (EDCO) employees from the beginning of 2015 until December 9.

EDCO cadres detected 2,601 violations in the same period and the company cut the power supply 2,652 times because of grid violations, according to the report. 

EDCO staff, in cooperation with security agencies, dealt with 806 cases of electricity theft and power metre tampering, the report said.

Electricity theft is estimated to cost the Kingdom about JD60 million annually.

Current laws stipulate that any person involved in stealing electricity faces between six months and two years in prison, and a fine of no less than JD2,000 and no more than JD10,000, or both penalties.

AMMAN – The Driver and Motor Vehicle Licensing Department has started implementing the recently amended by-law on vehicle licensing and registration fees after it was published in the Official Gazette on Thursday.

Department Director Brig. Gen. Enad Rukeibat told the Jordan News Agency, Petra, on Sunday that cars with an engine capacity over 3,001CC licensed before December 1, 2015 will be excluded from the new charges.

He said owners of vehicles with 3,001CC — 4,000CC engines registered after December 1 have to pay JD450 in licensing fees, while owners of over 4,001CC cars will pay JD600.

The new charges were agreed upon by the government and the Lower House Permanent Bureau last month after the decision to raise licensing fees created outrage among the public and MPs. Motorists who licensed their cars before the amendments and paid higher fees can visit the department to request a refund, Rukeibat said.

AMMAN — Maj. Akram Abu Al Rob, who died in December in the Missouri floods in the US, was laid to rest in his hometown of Zubdeh in Irbid on Friday, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Abu Al Rob was in the US to participate in a workshop.

He died when floods swept a vehicle that was transporting him along with two Egyptians and a Malaysian, the Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army said last month.

AMMAN — One man died and seven people were injured on Friday in a two-vehicle collision in Abu Nseir, the Civil Defence Department (CDD) said in a statement. Three of the seven injured were Syrians, according to the statement.

West Amman CDD cadres administered first aid to the injured and took them to Prince Hussein Public Hospital where they were listed in fair condition. In a separate accident on Jordan Street, two people died and four were injured in a two-vehicle collision, a CDD statement said.

CDD cadres administered first aid to the injured and took them to hospitals, where some were listed in fair condition and others in critical condition.

AMMAN — Civil Defence Department (CDD) cadres dealt with 283 different incidents during the polar front that started affecting the Kingdom on Friday, bringing snow and heavy rain, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported on Saturday.

The incidents included 59 water pumping cases, 53 dialysis cases, 47 births, some of which involved deliveries inside ambulances and 34 carbon monoxide poisoning incidents, one of which resulted in a person’s death. The CDD urged caution when using heaters, stressing the importance of ventilating houses to prevent such incidents.

AMMAN — The Labour Ministry on Sunday announced available job opportunities in the transport and services sectors. The available jobs are: accountant, quality controller, mechanical engineer, car washers and truck drivers, a ministry statement said.

Salaries start at JD250, in addition to social security and health insurance coverage. Those interested in applying can visit the permanent job fair in Abdali on Tuesday at 10am, log on to www.nees.jo or call 5675791, according to the statement.

AMMAN — The Cabinet on Sunday decided to allow the three main fuel distribution companies operating in the Kingdom — Manaseer Oil & Gas, Total Jordan and Jordan Petroleum Refinery Company — to import diesel to sell directly to consumers, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, quoted Energy Minister Ibrahim Saif as saying.

The decision was taken after the three companies signed a memorandum of understanding with the Energy Ministry and as part of licences granted to these firms in a step towards liberating the fuel market.

AMMAN — The Cabinet on Sunday approved the 2015-2017 executive plan to enhance public institutions’ response to domestic violence, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The plan was prepared in partnership with all national institutions to boost the family protection system at the national level and increase capabilities in responding to domestic violence cases, Petra said. 

AMMAN — Ten million cubic metres (mcm) of water entered the Kingdom’s major dams over the weekend, according to the Ministry of Water and Irrigation.

The dams now store 46.4 per cent of their total capacity, following a polar front that affected the country between Thursday and Sunday, bringing heavy rain and snow to different parts of the Kingdom.

“By Saturday morning, the dams held 151.5mcm of their total capacity of 325mcm,” Water Minister Hazem Nasser said in a statement e-mailed to The Jordan Times.

During this time last year, the major dams held 133mcm of their total capacity, according to a ministry official, who said the recent precipitation not only raised the storage levels but also the quality of water stored in the dams.

Water Ministry figures indicate that the King Talal Dam received the largest quantity of water during the polar front, amounting to 5.6mcm on Friday and Saturday. The northern dam now holds 53.22 mcm, or 70.96 per cent of its total capacity. 

The 16.80mcm Tannour Dam, which currently holds 71 per cent of its total capacity, didn't receive any additional water over the weekend.

Meanwhile, the highest snow accumulation was registered in Ajloun Governorate, 70km northwest of Amman, according to the Jordan Meteorological Department (JMD).

“Snow accumulation was the highest in Ras Munif, where it reached 15 centimetres [cm],” JMD Director General Mohammad Samawi told The Jordan Times on Sunday.

In Amman, the highest snow accumulation was registered in the northern suburb of Sweileh at 10cm, while the University of Jordan area received 8cm.

In the southern region, both Arabeh in Karak and Tafileh received 2cm of snow, while 1cm was registered in Shobak.

A rise in temperatures is forecast for Monday, when mercury levels in the capital will range between a high of 11ºC and a low of 4ºC, according to the JMD.

Another slight rise is forecast for Tuesday, when temperatures in Amman will reach a maximum of 12ºC and drop to a minimum of 4ºC, while on Wednesday mercury levels will range between a high of 14ºC and a low of 5ºC.

The JMD issued warnings to the public of expected ice formation as well as frost on Monday night.

Source: Ministry of Water and Irrigation 

AMMAN — An MP on Sunday sent a memo to Education Minister Mohammad Thneibat complaining about the maths exam for the scientific stream in the General Secondary Education Certificate Examination's (Tawjihi) winter session.

MP Jamil Nimri (Irbid, 2nd District) issued a statement saying the memo urged Thneibat to reconsider the exam due to several reasons, including "unclear" questions.

"We established these findings based on the testimonies of several accredited teachers. The main findings were questions that is from outside the curricula, a numerical mistake in one of the questions and failure to take into account students' different abilities when writing the questions," Nimri said.

However, the Education Ministry said the exam is "absolutely sound" and all the questions are from the curriculum.

"The exam is no different from our previous maths tests in terms of the type of questions and there are absolutely no mistakes," Zeidan Abbadi, head of the ministry's examination department, told The Jordan Times.

He said the correction committees have tested the questions and maintained that they were "proper" and "regular".

Students were split over the issue, with some saying that they answered all the questions without any difficulties and others describing the test paper as complicated and "unfair".

"I felt like the questions were written by a PhD professor who did not even bother look at our maths textbook," Layth Al Qadommi, a Tawjihi student, commented on Facebook.

On the other hand, Khalid Shakaa only heard about the controversy surrounding the exam three days after it was conducted. 

"It went very smoothly. I thought the exam was easy I started to panic when reading what people have to say about it. I now wonder ,if I have many mistakes and didn't realise it," he wrote on his Facebook page.

Some 115,000 students sat for the exam, which was held last Wednesday.

Drop in violations

On Saturday, Thneibat said there is a significant drop in Tawjihi violations in the current winter session in comparison with previous ones. 

Fourteen violations were registered on the second day of the exams compared with 45 in 2014 and 492 in 2013, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

The first day witnessed 35 violations around the Kingdom compared to 65 in 2014 and 219 in 2013's winter session.

On Sunday, Thneibat reiterated that the exams have been going smoothly, commending students' discipline.

The Tawjihi exam that was scheduled for Saturday was moved to January 13 at the same place and time, according to a decision the minister announced on Friday. 

The decision was aimed at ensuring the safety of students, teachers and personnel supervising the exams under the prevailing weather conditions 

Under the decision, other school examinations were also moved from Saturday to the day following the last day of exams, Petra reported.