At the beginning of July, and in Rome the mercury already climbs above forty degrees. The heat that broke loose last week in Europe, and also holds in the south, has quickly led to serious practical nuisance in Italy. The electricity grid was flat in, among others, the city centers of Rome, Florence and Bergamo. The power failure lasted in some neighborhoods of Rome for up to 28 hours, and apart from without electricity, some neighborhoods were also without water for hours, because the electric pump could no longer be operated.
No power in the house does not mean air conditioning, but also no fridge and freezer. In the northern Italian city of Bergamo, several residents were blocked in the elevator. The Italians are preparing for even more electricity problems this summer. “Everyone asks for the same thing: flashlights and power banks,” says the manager of a Chinese neighborhood store in the San Giovanni district in Rome. The Italian government also advises citizens to buy such things and put together an emergency package, to be prepared for emergency situations due to extreme weather.
Because the cause of the frequent electricity problems is still there: the cables warm up due to a peak in electricity consumption, mainly due to air conditioning systems. Due to the heat, the asphalt is also very hot, which means that the cables cannot cool down and be able to suffer damage.
According to Alberto Berizzi, professor of electric systems for energy supply at the Polytechnic University of Milan, energy suppliers should replace the oldest cables. “But on such a large scale that is not obvious. We are talking about millions of kilometers of cable,” Berizzi told the newspaper La Stampa. “Moreover, we would see these extra costs on our energy bill.”
Shop in the center of Florence is closed due to power outage.
Photo Claudio Giovannini/EPA
Hot air provides reflections on the road surface on the Via della Conciliazione in Rome.
Photo Tiziana Fabi/AFP
Phase generators
A short -term solution is not obvious. In the affected neighborhoods of Rome, days later there are still large trucks with current generators, including the film industry, to deliver electricity to residents and stores.
For the rest of the summer, in sure thirteen Italian regions of special measures to cope with the heat. In principle, it is not allowed to work outside on the hottest days, between half past twelve and four hours. It is mainly about the agricultural and construction sector. Companies can request financial compensation for the hours that their workers have to put down the work. In addition, it is strongly recommended to provide staff with sufficient water and light work clothing.
But the ‘riders’, the couriers of meal suppliers such as Glovo and Deliveroo, work almost throughout Italy during the hottest hours (with the exception of Northern Piedmont, where a ban also applies to the riders) do continue.
Not working during lunch hours would mean that they only earn half that day. “I need the money too much,” says Mohammed Talha, from Pakistan, who picks up an order at a fast food restaurant in Rome at half past two in the afternoon and at 42 degrees Celsius. Talha studies psychology at a private university in Rome and pays a 4,000 euros in study money annually. He protects himself against the sun with a black cap and tries to drink enough water. “As Glovo has put us in an email.”
Road worker pauses in Milan. Photo Luca Bruno/AP
Street maker works in the shadow of a parasol on Piazza Mazzini in Rome. Photo Tiziana Fabi/AFP
Controversial heat bonus
The delivery company ended up in a polemic this week in Italy, after it announced to pay a heat bonus to couriers who go out at very hot temperatures. The bonus would only amount to a few cents extra per delivery, and led to severe criticism from the Cgil trade union. The left -wing trade union accused the company to want to transform a health risk into an economic incentive.
Glovo hurriedly responded that the heat bonus was intended as a compensation. Every courier, according to the company, gets the maximum freedom to determine how and when he or she works, even in difficult weather conditions. But because the storm did not lie down, Glovo pulled into the heat bonus again.
Aswin Sri Kumar Kalava, a Glovo courier from India, had not already counted on the heat bonus. “If they were already planning it, they might have given us a little more at noon, to keep it in the evenings,” he says with a silly smile. “You have to take care of yourself. I now work twice a day, during the hot afternoon hours and in the evening, but if it gets even hotter, then I will no longer do the afternoon shift,” says Kalava, bathed in his electric bicycle at a Roman restaurant.
In the best case, with his orders he earns eight euros per hour, on which he still pays 5 percent tax. That is the afternoon rate. “But in the evening there are many more riders on the road, and I only earn 5 euros per hour.” Glovo has announced his couriers that there are distribution points where they can get free water bottles. But Kalava must first take the metro to reach such a distribution point. “I do fill my water bottles on the numerous fountains in Rome. Nice and easy and also free,” says the courier, and he jumps on the bike again.
Boy keeps his head cool at the Spanish stairs in Rome.
Photo Antonio Denti/ Reuters
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