Libya Plunged into Darkness as Power Grid Collapses Again

Libya's power grid has collapsed for the third time in two days, plunging large parts of western and central Libya into darkness. The Zawiya, Khoms, and Ubari power plants went offline, affecting electricity supplies to millions of people.

The failure also impacted the Great Man-Made River water system, which provides water to much of the country's population from underground aquifers in the Sahara desert.

Weeks of outages have triggered widespread protests and demonstrations across Libya, with protesters storming government institutions and oil infrastructure. The situation is becoming increasingly volatile, putting pressure on the fragile alliance between Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah's Government of National Unity in Tripoli and the Haftar family's power base in the east.

The country's deteriorating energy system is also affecting its oil production, with a series of drone attacks on the Zawiya energy hub this month disrupting gas supplies and leaving over 700 MW of the 1,300-MW Zawiya plant unavailable. The National Oil Corporation has warned that continued attacks could force it to declare force majeure on exports from Zawiya.

Libya is currently producing around 1.4 million barrels per day and aims to raise output to 2 million bpd in the early 2030s, but the oil revenues generated are yet to filter down into basic, reliable electricity service for its people.