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By Sami Zaptia.
London, 3 September 2020:
Five Tripoli Municipalities have called on the government to provide urgent emergency power stations to cover the electricity generation deficit.
In a joint letter dated 1 September and published yesterday, the five Municipalities of Tripoli Central, Hay Al-Andalus, Ain Zara, Soug Al-Juma and Abu Sleem said, based on the principle of equality of cities and the fact that residents of Tripoli have suffered the most from the unfair sharing of electricity between cities, and the mismanagement of the electricity network over the last few years, the government should supply the city urgent power stations located within its boundaries.
The letter pointed out that last Monday 31 August, Tripoli was only allowed 100 MW of power and that the power cuts that day were ‘‘unbearable’’. This it put to the lack of cooperation in electricity sharing by other cities.
The issue raised by the letter points to the fact that no power stations are located within the boundaries of Tripoli and the fact that other municipalities and their militias are using force to coerce the General Electricity Company of Libya (GECOL) into supplying more electricity to their regions/cities. As a result, Tripoli wants to have its own power station which it can control itself.
The Municipalities warned that the procedures for installing a new power station should be transparent and said that they will hold any government entity legally and morally responsible for any delay in these procedures.
The letter did not specify the size or type of generators demanded. It is not clear if the Municipalities want mobile generators such as those hired by the Libyan government from APR Energy in 2013-14, or if they want the floating ship-type generators recently suggested from Turkey.
The issue of acute power cuts has become a very toxic and political matter in Libya. It has contributed to the recent demonstrations, the suspension of the Interior Minister and the near collapse of the internationally recognized Libyan government.
In his speech in response to the demonstrations (24 August), Libya’s internationally recognized Prime Minister, Faiez Serraj, promised the electricity problem will be solved within four months.
