Following the suspected acts of sabotage at several power stations, the General Electricity Company of Libya (GECOL) confirms that it has launched a comprehensive investigation, in coordination with relevant authorities, into the suspected acts of sabotage targeting several substations and the resulting significant damage, the most recent being the explosion at substation 16 in Sug Il Juma.
It warned that tampering with the grid could lead to a total blackout.
The company emphasizes that any tampering with or sabotage targeting GECOL infrastructure directly threatens the stability of the grid and the safety of citizens.
GECOL warned of the dangers of tampering with power generation and transmission stations or attempting to restore power independently. Such actions could cause transformers and equipment to catch fire, units and lines to go offline, and ultimately lead to a complete grid collapse and a total blackout.
What happened at the Sug Il Juma substation, it said, underscores the seriousness of the matter, where the on-duty personnel were forcibly removed, and the station was shut down. This resulted in the automatic disconnection of lines, which could not be restored until security forces intervened and enabled the personnel to return and reconnect the lines.
The transformer on Route 16 also caught fire, a clear example of the dangers of attempting to restore power independently and without coordination with the operation and control teams.
Restoring electricity, it pointed out, is not simply a matter of flipping a switch; it is a precise and calculated technical process to protect the grid and equipment.
The company works around the clock to maintain grid stability and urges everyone to stay away from electrical installations and refrain from interfering with disconnection and restoration operations.
Any individual intervention could result in a blackout affecting an entire area - or the complete collapse of the grid.