AMMAN (JT) – The suspension in the supply of natural gas from Egypt will not affect households, as gas distributed to homes is produced in the Kingdom, the Royal Scientific Society (RSS) announced on Sunday.

In a statement released yesterday, the RSS said LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) is produced at the Jordan Petroleum Refinery Company in Zarqa, hence “storing additional household gas cylinders will create needless demand in general, and may create unnecessary safety risks”.

The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources confirmed on Saturday that an explosion targeting gas pipelines in Al Arish resulted in a complete suspension in the supply of natural gas from Egypt, which the Kingdom relies on for 80 per cent of its electricity generation needs.

Ministry Secretary General Farouq Hiyari told The Jordan Times that power generation stations have been switched to diesel and heavy oil to continue electricity generation, of which there are sufficient reserves for 30 days.

The National Electric Power Company (NEPCO) is working to ensure that electricity supply across the country will not be disrupted by the cut in natural gas supplies.

Currently, NEPCO is resorting to heavy fuel and diesel to keep power plants running, but reverting to heavy fuel oil will cost the Kingdom an additional estimated JD3 million per day, the RSS statement noted.

The society urged all citizens “not to substitute electricity for gas usage and to rationalise consumption, which can ultimately lower electricity consumption and respectively decrease the national energy bill”.

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