Two electricity grids at the Al-Zawiya power station were damaged after armed clashes erupted in the vicinity, the General Electricity Company of Libya (GECOL) said in a brief statement on Wednesday.
The company explained that the clashes led to damage and disconnection of the power drain circuits (Al-Zawiya – West)) with a voltage of 220 kV, and (Al-Zawiya – Zahra) with a voltage of 220 kV.
It said that this will negatively affect the performance of the electrical network, and lead to an increase of power cuts in the area. A specialized technical team will begin to repair the stations, “when the security situation in the area improves.”
Since 2011, Libya has been suffering from a deficit in energy production. GECOL adopts a program of load shedding hours in various cities and regions, which often reaches more than 12 hours a day.
There is also a rise in the theft of copper cables, where thieves sell them on the black market. Libya is seeking to obtain multiple sources of energy to solve its energy crisis, which the Prime Minister has repeatedly promised to solve, but without result.
The country is seeking to disarm, demobilise, and reintegrate its militias into society, by obtaining suitable jobs in the security and public sector.
The Minister of Labour, Ali Al-Abed stated that the government plans to integrate youths currently belonging to militias, into the military and police. In a step to unify Libyan institutions, and rehabilitate youth involved in the civil war.
“There is more than one way to integrate them into institutions, or even to provide small and medium enterprises through the Financial Facilities Fund and the Human Resources Fund at the ministry,” Al-Abed explained.
The Minister noted that the integration of these youths depends on the stability of the government, the adoption of a budget, and relative stability in the country. As well as a comprehensive national reconciliation process.