By Sami Zaptia.
London, 9 September 2020:
There was yet another total electricity blackout yesterday in Libya, this time affecting the Western region.
Libya’s state General Electricity Company of Libya (GECOL) reported yesterday that the blackout was as a result of ‘‘armed groups’’, usually a euphemism for state-recognized militias, entering a number of switching stations and forcing turning electricity supply on by force.
GECOL, is as usual, in too much fear for its safety to mention by name the militias responsible or the area the coerced action took place.
The power was partially returned this morning.
The incident is further evidence of the lack of the existence of a Libyan state nine years on from the overthrow of the Qaddafi regime. The state still does not have strong enough loyal security forces and certainly does not enjoy the prerequisite of a state, a total monopoly on the use of legitimate force.
It also evidences the failure of the state-sector GECOL of being able to generate and deliver enough power to citizens – despite the billions in dinars it has received over the decades.
https://www.libyaherald.com/2020/09/04/libyas-miserable-summer-continues-with-another-total-power-blackout-in-south-and-central-libya/
