Armed group cuts gas supply to power plant in Tripoli

Tripoli, April 11 (IANS) The state-owed General Electricity Company of Libya said that the gas supply to a power plant in southern Tripoli was cut, causing outages in the city."The General Electricity Company confirms that the closure of the gas pipeline of Sidi Sayeh area (southern Tripoli) that feeds some power generator units of the western region caused power deficit of 1,000 megawatts," the Company said in a statement on Friday.The Company demanded immediate reopening of the gas pipeline so that power can be restored in the affected areas, reports Xinhua news agency.No group has claimed responsibility for cutting the gas pipeline yet.Years of armed conflicts and insecurity forced foreign companies responsible for the construction of power projects to abandon their projects, causing deficit in the public power network since the former regime of Muammar Gaddafi was toppled in 2011.Tripoli has been witnessing deadly armed conflict between the eastern-based army and the rival UN-backed government since April 2019.
--IANS ksk/