Regime-held areas | Bad weather increases hours of power cut, fuel crisis continues to deepen, and Syrian pound hits new record low

In light of the rainstorm and the drop in temperatures in all Syrian provinces, reliable sources have informed the Syrian Observatory that a malfunction occurred in the power lines of “Deir Ali, Al-Fursan”, Al-Fayha’a 2 and Ibn al-Nafis 230 kV, which caused an increase in the hours of power cuts in all areas in Damascus and its countryside and other governorates.

Meanwhile, electricity networks in the town of Hadar in Al-Quneitra countryside was severely damaged due to the bad weather, where three transformers were burned, causing power cut in the area and some nearby villages and towns.

Moreover, Hama province has witnessed an increase in the hours of power cut, where electricity goes off for 5 hours with only one hour of electricity in all cities and regions, as a result of the decrease in the electricity ration of the province, and some electrical towers and transformers were damaged due to storms and bad weather.

Meanwhile, the Syrian pound’s value hit a new record low against foreign currencies as follows:  

• In Damascus: the buying rate is 2,915 SYP and the selling rate is 2,940 SYP against the dollar, while the selling rate is 3,995 SYP and the buying rate is 3,523 SYP against the euro.

• In Idlib and Aleppo countryside: the buying rate is 390 SYP and the selling rate is 395 SYP against Turkish lira.

On the other hand, the price of one gram of 21 carat gold has reached 150,000 SYP per gram in Damascus.

The Syrian regime’s Ministry of Internal Trade and Consumer Protection had set the new prices of petrol, which will be applied starting from tomorrow, and they are as follows:

• Premium subsidized petrol: 475 SYL per litre.
• Premium non-subsidized petrol: 675 SYL per litre.
• Octane 95: 1,300 SYL per litre.

This development comes in the wake of the explosion of several oil trucks in Homs city, as SOHR sources have confirmed that the number of oil trucks affiliated to “Al-Qaterji” company which exploded near a reservoir in front of the Syria Gas Company (SGC) in Homs exceeded ten. The explosions led to outbreak of fires and caused substantial material damage.

It is worth noting that Al-Qaterji company transport crud oil from SDF-held areas to regime-controlled areas. The company’s oil trucks usually take roads pass through the Syrian desert where they are sometimes attacked by ISIS cells.