During his meeting on Wednesday with the Director General of the Libya Development and Reconstruction Fund, Engineer Belqasim Haftar, Speaker of the House of Representatives Aguila Saleh discussed taking urgent measures to address the electricity crisis and mitigate its impact on citizens, as well as continuing to implement reconstruction and development projects in accordance with approved plans.

The Speaker’s Media Center stated: “The meeting addressed the need to take urgent measures and find rapid solutions to address the electricity crisis, as well as to implement immediate remedies to mitigate its impact on citizens, thereby ensuring a stable power supply, alleviating citizens’ suffering, and maintaining the continuity of essential services.”

Enhancing the Efficiency of the Electricity Sector’s Infrastructure

The Media Center explained on its Facebook page that “ this will be achieved by accelerating the implementation of priority projects and supporting efforts aimed at enhancing the efficiency of the electricity sector’s infrastructure.” The meeting emphasized “the importance of continuing to implement reconstruction and development projects in accordance with approved plans, in a manner that meets citizens’ needs, supports stabilization efforts, and contributes to achieving comprehensive development in various cities and regions” .

This summer, the power grid is facing a new test of its resilience after most regions of the country experienced a widespread blackout early Saturday morning. This was caused by a number of major power plants going offline—including the Al-Khaleej and Misrata plants—resulting in the loss of approximately 1,350 megawatts of generating capacity, according to an announcement by the Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy of the government appointed by the House of Representatives.

Causes of the Electricity Crisis

The ministry attributed the blackout to the disconnection of the 400-kilovolt transmission line between the Misrata and Khoms power plants, which caused a reverse flow of power into the western grid with a load estimated at approximately 350 megawatts, leading to a frequency collapse and the shutdown of large sections of the grid.

At the same time, the General Electricity Company attributed part of the responsibility to technical and security factors, noting that clashes in the city of Zawiya damaged the Zawiya power plant and resulted in the loss of approximately 700 megawatts of generating capacity. A decline in gas supplies from some fields in the southwest also contributed to the loss of approximately 1,000 megawatts.

The company added that it had requested a temporary halt to gas exports to Italy so that the gas could be redirected to power plants, but it had not received a response. It emphasized that it had been warning since last June about the dangers of continued gas and fuel shortages and irregular supplies.

Updates on Development and Reconstruction

In addition to the electricity issue, during their meeting at the House of Representatives headquarters in Benghazi, Saleh and Haftar discussed the latest developments regarding reconstruction and followed up on the progress of development projects currently being implemented in various cities and regions. They also reviewed the most significant updates on reconstruction and development programs.

During the meeting, Haftar briefed the Speaker of the House of Representatives on “the completion rates of existing projects, in addition to discussing ways to support the implementation of strategic projects and accelerate the pace of work, thereby contributing to improving service levels and achieving sustainable development across the country,” according to the Media Center.