The Al-Khaleej power station in Sirte, which can provide up to 1,400 megawatts of power, was crippled by Islamic State militants, who occupied the city until recently but are now largely on the run thanks to GNA military action with Misratan armed forces.
This week the first turbine of the plant came back on line, providing 350 megawatts of power. “We hope in a few days that our supply from Sirte will be stable, which will bring us 350 megawatts,” said Maiteeg, who has made the electricity crisis his main focus. “We have a shortage of 1,500 MW. But this in only when the temperature is over 40 and people use their air conditioners.”
Mr Maiteeg said that another problem was uncoordinated attacks by the forces of General Khalifa Haftar of the so-called Libyan National Army, a large militia in the east of the country, which does not accept the GNA mandate to govern. Recent bombing raids around Ajdabiya have cut 250 megawatts of power to local communities.
“He [Haftar] is causing a lot of humanitarian issues,” said Maiteeg. “But the man is not listening to us. He is not listening to the Libyan agreement. He is not listening to the international community. Mr Kobler [the UN special envoy to Libya] has asked him many times to stop bombing where there are utilities for people and he is not listening.”
Adam can be contacted at adam@libya-businessnews.com and +44 7900 783662.
(Electricity image via Shutterstock)