Work less, sweat less

If in doubt, just work less: Kuwait MPs are backing an unusual proposal to reduce peak power demand.

Kuwaiti members of parliament approved a recommendation to shorten summer working hours to save electricity, as the emirate grappled with record heat and a major power crisis.

The non-binding recommendation followed an emergency parliamentary session to discuss the power crisis, and called for working hours of government employees to be changed from the present 7:30 until 14:30 to 7:00 until noon, the AFP newswire reports.

The recommendation comes in the wake of soaring temperatures almost led to power cuts in the oil-rich OPEC member. Temperatures rose to 52 degrees Celsius, the highest in more than 30 years.

Parliament also called in a senior government minister to provide explanations. Bader Al-Shreiaan, minister of electricity and water, told MPs the government would be tackling the problem by putting in short-term measures to reduce power load during the summer, and would be looking to improve long-term power production, reports KUNA News.

He said the ministry had installed equipment to raise the efficiency of power stations that bore the brunt of the rising demand.