Libya’s eastern-based government has confirmed that the country’s electricity grid has been disconnected from Tunisia’s power network since mid-June, stressing that the recent nationwide blackout in Tunisia was unrelated to Libya’s electricity system.
In a statement issued by the Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy under the government appointed by the House of Representatives and headed by Prime Minister Osama Hammad, officials said Libya’s electricity network has been operating independently for several weeks because of a significant domestic power generation shortfall.
The ministry released the statement after Tunisia experienced a widespread electricity outage that affected the capital and several other regions. Tunisian authorities attributed the disruption to exceptionally high temperatures and an unprecedented surge in electricity demand, which placed heavy pressure on the country’s national grid.
According to the Libyan ministry, the electricity interconnection between Libya and Tunisia was suspended in mid-June after Libya’s power generation deficit reached approximately 1,200 megawatts. Officials said the shortage made it impossible to maintain stable frequency synchronization between the two national grids.
The ministry explained that disconnecting the two systems was a technical measure intended to preserve the operational stability and safety of both electricity networks. Maintaining synchronization under conditions of insufficient electricity generation, it said, could have increased the risk of broader disruptions affecting both countries.
Officials stressed that the blackout in Tunisia had no connection to Libya’s electricity network or the transmission line linking the two countries. They emphasized that the Libyan grid had already been isolated before the outage occurred.
Libya has experienced recurring electricity shortages in recent years, particularly during the summer months when demand rises sharply because of high temperatures. Electricity generation has frequently fallen below national consumption, resulting in load shedding and periodic power cuts across several regions.
Authorities continue to work on increasing electricity production, improving the stability of the national grid, and reducing the generation deficit through maintenance projects and new energy investments.
