Speaking exclusively to Libya Herald, the Media Spokesperson for the General Electricity Company of Libya (GECOL), Weam Al-Taeb, confirmed that the generation capacity of power plants in Libya reached 8,200 megawatts (MW) for the first time in the country’s history. He said generation had never exceeded 6,000 MW previously.
Al-Taeb said total energy generation is expected to reach 8,700 MW before the summer peak, and that current consumption ranges between 5,000 to 6,000 MW, leaving a surplus of more than 2,000 MW.
Unprecedented number of overhauls conducted
Explaining the reason for this generation surplus, Al-Ta’eb pointed out that GECOL has carried out a large number of major overhauls, reaching 13 major overhauls, which were completed before entering the previous winter peak. He added that work is currently underway to implement another 14 major overhauls, which are expected to be completed before entering the summer peak.
Work continuing across Libya
He added that GECOL is working in a coordinated manner in all Libyan cities, east, west and south. In the city of Tobruk, work is progressing well, and most of the engineering works for the new Tobruk station have been completed. Work is also going well in the projects of the North Benghazi station, as well as the Sarir station, in addition to the continuation of engineering work.
As for the situation in the south, Al-Taeb said that work on the project to connect the Ubari station to the electrical network is underway and will be completed before the summer peak, and the station will contribute to supporting electricity generation throughout the country.
Multi-nationality foreign technicians working safely across Libya
Revealing another reason as to why Libya’s electricity generation has risen after over a decade of failure, Al-Taeb confirmed that foreign companies operating in the electricity sector with the GECOL from Turkey, America, Germany, South Korea, India and Egypt are working continuously without obstacles to complete the contracted projects on time, especially with the resumption of all electricity projects that have been suspended for years.
Hope for a peak summer season without power cuts
Sending a message to Libyan citizens, Al-Taeb said GECOL management, which announced weeks ago the end of the peak winter season without the need to organise scheduled power cuts due to its generation deficit first time in ten years, hopes to schedule no power cuts during this summer peak season.
