Yesterday, on 31st October, 2004, at around 13:00 in the afternoon, Kuwait plunged into darkness, as electricity failed, due to some technical fault. Anarchy erupted in Kuwait's streets as electricity blackout plunged Kuwait into confusion and traffic fear as traffic lights were not working and traffic jams obstructed most roads in the country. No major traffic accidents were reported. The blackout which is the first to occur in Kuwait since 13 years ago was a result of a technical fault. No fire or accidents were reported.
The power generation capacity in Kuwait exceeds 9,000 mega watts/hour while consumption reaches above 7,000 MW/hour during peak summers when temperature hits 50 degree Celsius in this desert state.
The blackout caused traffic bottlenecks in Kuwait City and the suburbs as traffic lights stopped operating, but no major accident were reported.
A senior expert informed that the feeders which supply power to the transmission network, stopped working, which resulted in knocking out four of the five huge power generation and water desalination plants in Kuwait.
The power was restored around 17:00 hours in most of the areas in Kuwait. This day would be remembered in the history of Kuwait.