By Libya Herald staff.
Malta, 1 January 2015:
The General Electricity Company of Libya (GECOL) has warned that the extended power cuts currently . . .[restrict]being experienced in Libya are likely to continue in the short term.
GECOL said in a statement yesterday that due to the fighting in the (Oil Crescent) Ras Lanuf area that had led to the loss of about 500 MW of electrical generation from the West Sarir and Zueitina plants, power cuts would continue.
These two power plants had been producing electricity to supply the western region of Libya, and their disruption had led to the increased loss of power supplies to many areas, GECOL reported.
In view of these circumstances, GECOL hoped that the general public will use power more considerately.
Meanwhile, due to the poor weather conditions in eastern Libya, GECOL reported that there was a total blackout in Benghazi and the Green Mountains yesterday. There was a partial blackout in a number of areas in Benghazi on Tuesday as well.
It will be noted that the Ministry of Electricity and GECOL had launched a major nationwide awareness campaign last week in an effort to get the profligate Libyan public to use the heavily subsidized electricity more wisely – despite its dirt-cheap price.
The campaign named ‘’Bashh’’ which means ‘’So’’ from the catchphrase ‘‘So the power is not cut’’ has continued in Tripoli on TV and radio and with awareness campaigns being taken to schools led by the Scouts movement.
It will be noted that Libya has been experiencing, on and off, chronic power cuts ever since the fighting erupted in the February 2011 revolution as various power infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed. After a lull in power cuts recently in Tripoli, power cuts have returned over the last weeks.
Benghazi which has seen much more inner-city fighting has suffered many more power cuts in recent months.
The lack of security has also meant that foreign workers and contractors are unable to carryout essential maintenance work on electricity infrastructure within Libya. [/restrict]
