Explosion near power station closes Libyan power plants

The specialized technical teams of the General Electricity Company began the work of examining and verifying the causes of the explosion near the Zawiya power station in Libya, as reported by LY Witness on August 15th.

The explosion led to a number of production stations being out of service and power outages in neighbouring areas. The General Electricity Company made a statement in response to the incident, in which it was said that technical teams are working to determine the circumstances of the event and its technical causes, emphasizing that it will continue its efforts to restore the electricity supply and that the supply should return to normal capacity in a short amount of time.

The company issued an apology to citizens for any interruption or disruption in the electricity supply, stressing that its teams will continue working until the network is fully stabilized and the supply returns to normal levels. 

Information about the causes of the explosion that was heard in Harsha, located about 55 kilometers west of the capital Tripoli, came as photos and a video clip on social media showed smoke rising from the station’s site. Other information has been circulating around, with the possibility that the plant may have been deliberately targeted, while other accounts suggested the explosion may have been caused by the explosion of a turbine at the site, or potentially other malfunctions. 

The Harsha area is one of the areas that witnessed the clashes between armed groups in the city of Zawiya, while the General Electricity Company has yet to determine the final cause of the explosion. 

The incident comes less than a week after a drone targeted the 220kV power substation in Zawiya, alongside the recent attacks on oil tanks within the city, showing a damaging pattern to vital facilities.

LY Witness, Maghrebi.org