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A thread on #Libya’s long-term electricity crisis
When did it start?
How it was exacerbated?
What are its consequences?
What hinders resolving this crisis?
When did it start?
How it was exacerbated?
What are its consequences?
What hinders resolving this crisis?
When did it start?
#Libya’s power sector has been under-developed since the #Gaddafi era due to infrastructural & administrative deficiencies. Electricity consumption grew significantly in the last 20 years & the regime didn’t device a plan to cover the demand at the same rate
#Libya’s power sector has been under-developed since the #Gaddafi era due to infrastructural & administrative deficiencies. Electricity consumption grew significantly in the last 20 years & the regime didn’t device a plan to cover the demand at the same rate
With only 14 power plants, compared to 25 in its neighbor #Tunisia, #Gaddafi’s #Libya worked to provide electricity for the main peak demand areas, the western & eastern regions, while the southern region was greatly marginalized
The regime did contract foreign companies for mega projects of electricity infrastructure pre-2011, but the overhaul operation wasn’t drastic or quick enough. Thus, the 2011 war came & put everything on hold
How it was exacerbated?
After #Libya’s first civil war in 2011, theft of copper wires, sabotage of transmission towers & destruction of power stations by petty criminals & armed groups, as well as institutional corruption became main contributors for the crisis
After #Libya’s first civil war in 2011, theft of copper wires, sabotage of transmission towers & destruction of power stations by petty criminals & armed groups, as well as institutional corruption became main contributors for the crisis
What are its consequences?
#Libya’s state-owned power firm GECOL adopted a program of power load shedding, by which power outage hours in a manner that is proportionate to electricity consumption per area
#Libya’s state-owned power firm GECOL adopted a program of power load shedding, by which power outage hours in a manner that is proportionate to electricity consumption per area
GECOL’s program resulted in reducing productivity & revenue across various sectors in #Libya, death of newborn babies in hospital incubators, spread of respiratory difficulties attributable to ubiquitous power-generator smoke & other jarring consequences
What hinders resolving this crisis?
Simply, the fact that it’s been exploited for financial gain & political leverage
Simply, the fact that it’s been exploited for financial gain & political leverage
Power generator dealers & other profiteers are selling alternatives to public electricity & increasing the price of diesel in the black market
They engaged in acts of vandalism against power facilities to protect their lucrative business
They engaged in acts of vandalism against power facilities to protect their lucrative business
Politically, control of the power supply is influential on the premise that it offers an opportunity for leverage, with examples of such political exploitation being too many to mention in this thread
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Sources: @Clingendaelorg, @WorldBank
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Sources: @Clingendaelorg, @WorldBank
