A widespread power outage left much of Libya without electricity on Friday evening after a major failure caused the collapse of the national power grid, prompting emergency restoration efforts as the country prepares for a period of extreme summer temperatures.
According to the Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy, the blackout occurred after several strategic power generation units unexpectedly went offline, removing approximately 1,350 megawatts from the national grid and triggering a complete collapse of the network’s operating frequency.
Ministry spokesman Rabie Khalifa said the incident began with the sudden disconnection of the 400-kilovolt transmission line linking the Misrata and Al Khums power stations. The outage caused a reverse flow of around 350 megawatts toward the western grid, resulting in the sequential shutdown of major generating stations, including the Gulf and Misrata power plants.
In response, Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy Awad Al-Badri held urgent consultations with Egyptian officials, leading to an agreement to activate the electrical interconnection between Libya and Egypt. The imported electricity is being used to restart Libya’s main power stations and gradually rebuild the national grid.
The ministry said technical and operational teams were placed on full emergency alert, working around the clock to restore electricity to affected cities and regions. It confirmed that power had already begun flowing through the Egyptian interconnection and that electricity was gradually returning across the country.
The blackout also disrupted operations at the Great Man-Made River Project. Officials reported power cuts at well fields in Sarir and Tazerbo, as well as at the main pumping station supplying Benghazi. To protect the water network, authorities temporarily reduced water supplies to several cities and agricultural projects while building sufficient reserves at the Ajdabiya balancing reservoir.
Electricity service began returning to many areas on Saturday morning, although restoration efforts remained ongoing.
The outage coincided with warnings from the Ministry of Environment that temperatures are expected to exceed 42°C in parts of Libya during the coming week, particularly along the coastal region. Authorities have urged increased preparedness for heat-related risks, including the possibility of forest fires, as extreme weather conditions place additional pressure on the country’s electricity infrastructure and essential public services.
