Libya is on the verge of plunging into complete darkness due to a lack of the fuel needed to generate electricity, at a time when two governments continue their struggle to rule the country.
Residents in Tripoli and Benghazi, Libya’s largest cities, say they have been suffering for days from blackouts for periods that amount to ten hours or more per day.
Mobile phone communications in areas in the east of the country were disrupted this week due to power outages, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed news site reported.
On its website, Libya’s General Electricity Company said: “The power network is divided into several sections which have had a negative impact on the network’s functions that led to instability and full outage.”
The company did not disclose further details, but officials complained that the power plants were damaged or became inaccessible because of the continuing clashes.
The company said that some stations such as the Hon station in central Libya stopped working because of the “deteriorating security situation”.
It also stressed that the departure of several foreign partners for security reasons prevented the completion of projects aimed at repairing the affected power plants.
Several international companies are refusing to work in Libya.
Oil production also fell in Libya to about 350,000 barrels per day, approximately 20 per cent of the country’s production in 2013, after major export ports stopped working in the last few months due to the outbreak of clashes near them.
The gas production has sharply declined since the closure of the Sidra port, the largest port in Libya, in December last year when forces allied with the government in Tripoli tried to take over control of it.