BENGHAZI (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 26th July, 2020) The protracted war and political divisions in Libya have left its electrical grid, as many other vital sectors, in tatters and requiring extensive maintenance, Executive Director of the General Electricity Company of Libya Awad al-Badri told Sputnik.
"The electricity sector in Libya was affected by the wars and events that the country has witnessed since 2011 in economic terms, especially the electricity network that suffered many problems as a result of these wars," al-Badri said.
The executive went on to explain that Libya's electrical grid as a whole, before 2011, had the capacity of producing up to 500 megawatts of power annually. The same system today, divided by east and west and after years of damage and negligence, the system as a whole hardly puts out 300 megawatts, resulting in power outages across the country. Libyan citizens may experience up to five hours of blackout per day.
Al-Badri explained that the divide between Benghazi and Tripoli has undermined the country's electrical capabilities.
"The General Electricity Company in Tripoli refused to cooperate with the General Electricity Authority [in Benghazi] and considered that the authority is a parallel body and consequently the General Electricity Authority is now in a critical situation in dealing with the departments in the eastern region, so the political division has had a great direct impact on the electricity sector," al-Badri explained.
He also said that there were many projects on the books that have been suspended for years because of the political impasse.
As other North African states, most of Libya's population is concentrated on the country's northern coastline. This way, electricity, roads and most other infrastructure was built in an east-west formation. The conflict between the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord and the Tobruk-based House of Representatives, whose executive branch is headquartered in Benghazi.
The NATO-aided assassination of long-time ruler Moammar Gaddafi in 2011 on a wave of Arab Spring furor plunged the once-prosperous country into a looping cycle of violence that has attracted international players and left the country in tatters.
