No Result
View All Result
Tuesday, July 8, 2025
23 °c
Tripoli
24 ° Sat
24 ° Sun
  • Advertising
  • Contact
LibyaHerald
  • Home
  • Libya
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Magazine
  • Advertising
  • Login
  • Register
SUBSCRIBE
  • Home
  • Libya
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Magazine
  • Advertising
  • Login
  • Register
No Result
View All Result
LibyaHerald
No Result
View All Result
Home Business

Libya’s electricity sector beyond the revolution

byGeorge Grant
October 27, 2012
Reading Time: 4 mins read
A A
Libya’s electricity sector beyond the revolution

Demand for electricity in Libya is growing at an annual rate of seven per cent

By George Grant and Ashraf Abdul Wahab.

Tripoli, 28 June:

The deputy minister of electricity & renewable energy has spoken about the recovery . . .[restrict]of the electricity sector post-revolution, the challenge of attracting new investors and the possibility of privatisation.

Demand for electricity in Libya is growing at an annual rate of seven per cent

More than 70 per cent of Libya’s electricity network has been repaired and reserviced following nine months of damage and neglect during last year’s revolution, the Ministry of Electricity has told the Libya Herald.

The work has been completed in the face of numerous obstacles, including a lack of equipment, a significant absence of foreign companies still concerned about the security situation in Libya and the presence of landmines distributed during the war.

RELATED POSTS

Libya’s annual fuel bill rose to US$ 12 bn due to increased electricity production

UNDP installs solar power for Jufra municipality to operate water wells

Mohammed Ali Ekhlat, the deputy minister of electricity & renewable energy, said that some employees had been killed by landmines whilst carrying out their work, whilst others had faced extremely challenging conditions following recent violence around Kufra, Sebha and the Zintan-Shagiga region in the Nafusa Mountains.

“What has been achieved since we resumed work last September has been remarkable”, Ekhlat said. “The majority of this work has been carried out by Libyan companies operating in harsh conditions and I would like to thank them for all the wonderful work they have done. Last year we had the revolution, and this year we are having the electricity revolution”.

The minister warned, however, that recent power cuts being experienced in Tripoli and elsewhere in Libya could get worse as the country moves into the hottest part of the year and Ramadan. “Libya currently has a generation capacity of about 5,000MW, but demand at present is reaching as high as 5,100-5,200MW. As we move towards August we expect peak demand could reach more than 5,700MW.”

In 2010, the last year where figures have been recorded, peak demand for electricity reached 5,760MW. Ekhlat said that rising residential electricity consumption is primarily responsible for the current growth in demand, in particular an increased use of air-conditioning units.

“We are asking people to reduce the amount of air conditioning they use, in particular during the peak hours of 8pm-11pm”.

According to a report released last month by the Renewable Energy Authority of Libya (REAOL), demand for electricity is growing rapidly, at a rate of around seven per cent per annum.  Residential electricity demand accounts for the biggest single share of overall consumption, representing 30 per cent of the total. This is twice the amount used by industry, the next largest sector, which accounts for just 15 per cent of electricity used in Libya.

Eklhat believes that additional maintenance to the network and the completion of new power units will enable Libya to meet the immediate growth in demand this year, although power cuts will continue to take place during the interceding period.

The country is also able to draw on electricity supplies from neighbouring Egypt, although work is still needed to connect the grid to Tunisia and Algeria.

“However, to really get on top of the problem we need to complete the construction of new power plants, and for that we need the foreign companies who were working on them to come back to Libya”.

Five new power plants were under construction before the revolution, in north Benghazi, Misrata, Obari, the Gulf of Sirte and west Tripoli. The majority of work was completed on the Benghazi, Misrata and Sirte plants, but the plants at Obari and Tripoli have much further to go.

Ekhlat says that serious operations have yet to resume at any of the sites because the foreign companies working on them, which included Hyundai, Siemens, Daewoo and Gama electronics are still assessing the security situation in the country.

“I would like to give these companies this message: Libya is safe and they can come back”, Ekhlat said. The minister disclosed that some of these companies may resume operations next month, although this would depend on their own security assessments.

In addition to new conventional power plants, Libya is also hoping to make use of its vast renewable energy potential. Containing large swathes of the Sahara desert, Libya has the second highest levels of solar radiation in the world, whilst high average wind speeds in several locations also make it an attractive destination for wind farms.

The Ministry of Electricity has declared its intention to make use of this potential and plans for 10 per cent of Libya’s electricity supply to be covered by renewable energy sources by 2030. It has also been estimated that improvements in electricity usage could reduce total consumption by 2,160MW by 2020.

For these plans to succeed, however, Libya’s security and political situations will need to stabilise to the point where both foreign and domestic companies are able and willing to provide the skills and investment needed.

Political uncertainty surrounding the status of existing contracts and the agreement of new ones is inhibiting and the fighting around Kufra, Sebha and Zintan-Shagiga has damaged both transformers and power lines.

“We have now fixed all the damage caused in this fighting, but it does set things back”, Ekhlat said. “However, our workers have been fantastic. They can fix damage to cables and transformers in a matter of hours or days. But our message to those fighting is to stop and to refrain from shooting at our electrical equipment!”

Looking to the future, Ekhlat also revealed the possibility of privatising Libya’s electricity sector, including breaking up GECO.

“This is not something for the short term, but it is something we should be looking at. International practice is to have the government controlling transmission, and the private sector heavily involved generation and distribution. Our ambition is to make Libya’s electricity sector as efficient and as attractive to investors as possible”.

  [/restrict]

Tags: electricityfeaturedLibya

Related Posts

CBL receives results from meetings with international banks
Business

A 247,000-bpd oil production increase would achieve US$ 6 billion annually to enhance ability to meet FX demand, maintain strength of LD and achieve economic balance: CBL ‎

July 2, 2025
Libya Herald exclusive: Responding to the prime minister’s call yesterday to the private sector and banks to do more, leading businessman Husni Bey responds
Business

Op-Ed: Reputational Damage Is Worse Than Losing Money

July 2, 2025
Benghazi port receives 398 containers of mixed goods, 25,000 tons of wheat, 28,500 tons of barley and 6,000 tons of cement
Business

All imports into Libya must be paid for through official bank transactions

July 2, 2025
World Bank holds off on Tunisian $50m power plant fund; implications for Libya
Business

Libya’s economy showed recovery in 2024, remained resilient despite reliance on hydrocarbons and ongoing political and security instability: World Bank

July 1, 2025
CBL receives results from meetings with international banks
Business

CBL demands imports are conducted through official banking instruments and the elimination of the FX black market

July 1, 2025
Harouge Oil reaches record 45,000 bpd production – to increase it by 25,000 bpd
Business

Harouge Oil Operations Company replaces Al-Ghani field pipeline

July 1, 2025
Next Post

Morocco ”expels” Qaddafi loyalists

Foreign ministry launching "urgent inquiry" into Tunisian boat attack

ADVERTISEMENT

Top Stories

  • Libya Herald exclusive: Responding to the prime minister’s call yesterday to the private sector and banks to do more, leading businessman Husni Bey responds

    Op-Ed: Reputational Damage Is Worse Than Losing Money

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • All imports into Libya must be paid for through official bank transactions

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • A 247,000-bpd oil production increase would achieve US$ 6 billion annually to enhance ability to meet FX demand, maintain strength of LD and achieve economic balance: CBL ‎

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • CBL demands imports are conducted through official banking instruments and the elimination of the FX black market

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Libya’s economy showed recovery in 2024, remained resilient despite reliance on hydrocarbons and ongoing political and security instability: World Bank

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
ADVERTISEMENT
LibyaHerald

The Libya Herald first appeared on 17 February 2012 – the first anniversary of the Libyan Revolution. Since then, it has become a favourite go-to source on news about Libya, for many in Libya and around the world, regularly attracting millions of hits.

Recent News

A 247,000-bpd oil production increase would achieve US$ 6 billion annually to enhance ability to meet FX demand, maintain strength of LD and achieve economic balance: CBL ‎

Op-Ed: Reputational Damage Is Worse Than Losing Money

Sitemap

  • Why subscribe?
  • Terms & Conditions
  • FAQs
  • Copyright & Intellectual Property Rights
  • Subscribe now

Newsletters

    Be the first to know latest important news & events directly to your inbox.

    Sending ...

    By signing up, I agree to our TOS and Privacy Policy.

    © 2022 LibyaHerald - Powered by Sparx Solutions.

    Welcome Back!

    Login to your account below

    Forgotten Password? Sign Up

    Create New Account!

    Fill the forms below to register

    *By registering into our website, you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.
    All fields are required. Log In

    Retrieve your password

    Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

    Log In
    No Result
    View All Result
    • Login
    • Sign Up
    • Libya
    • Business
    • Advertising
    • About us
    • BusinessEye Magazine
    • Letters
    • Features
    • Why subscribe?
    • FAQs
    • Contact

    © 2022 LibyaHerald - Powered by Sparx Solutions.

    This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.