By Adam Nathan.
Libya’s electricity shortage crisis should be over within two months, a senior government official has pledged.
Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Maiteeg, who is coordinating government and private sector action on the problem, told Libya Business News: “We hope in eight weeks the situation will get much better. But the problem is we are heading into August and the temperature in Libya will be quite high and people will feel it.”
Maiteeg said the government would be looking at ways to help those most vulnerable in society. “I know that a lot of people in Libya are suffering from this, especially people who cannot get any help and older people and this is where the government needs to focus more,” he said.
The crisis has seen regular power cuts in Tripoli, Libya’s capital, as temperatures soar into the mid 40s, and has undermined the authority of the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA).
Foreign diplomats have made it clear to the new government that the electricity crisis is a priority. One senior Western diplomat, who spoke to Libya Business News on condition of anonymity, said: “The GNA really needs to get to grips with things fast or it will lose popularity in the country. The first thing on their list should be the electricity in Tripoli.”
Creating enough electric power and transmitting it to major conurbations, in particular the capital, has become difficult in Libya because of the security situation, which has seen large parts of Libya’s power infrastructure damaged.
