By Libya Herald reporters
Tripoli, 12 May 2017:
Power cuts have again hit Tripoli. Many areas of the capital were without electricity for eight hours yesterday and for much the same time today.
The cause is a heatwave that has resulted in a surge in power consumption. With temperature as high as 45 degrees centigrade, residents have been switching on the airconditioning. Demand has exceeded supply, bringing about the power failures.
In a statement this evening, the electricity company GECOL claimed that it had lost 750 MW in production because of shortages of fuel – both oil and gas – to power electricity stations. It called on the National Oil Corporation to provide the fuel so that it could boost production to meet increased demand resulting from the high temperatures.
Tripoli has been hit regularly by power cuts for a variety of reasons. Last month, the closure of the gas pipeline from the Wafa oilfield led to intermittent shortages. The pipeline feeds the Ruwais power station.
In January, power cuts crippled the city and much of western and southern Libya. A fuel blockade at the important Zawia power station was cited as the main cause.
Summer power cuts have been a regular occurrence for the past few years, and these latest were expected. However, with little expectation of sufficient extra power generation coming on stream in the near future, it is likely to be a difficult and fractious summer this year, especially as exhaustion with the inability of political leaders to find a solution to the country’s political problems sets in and inflation continues to rise.
