Libya Lights up after Years of Power Cuts

An aerial view shows cars driving past Martyrs' Square in Tripoli on September 2, 2023. (AFP)
An aerial view shows cars driving past Martyrs' Square in Tripoli on September 2, 2023. (AFP)
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Libya Lights up after Years of Power Cuts

An aerial view shows cars driving past Martyrs' Square in Tripoli on September 2, 2023. (AFP)
An aerial view shows cars driving past Martyrs' Square in Tripoli on September 2, 2023. (AFP)

It's midnight just before the weekend. Traffic snarls the corniche in Tripoli, where improved electricity service has brought renewed energy to Libya's capital after years of conflict and power cuts.

Chronic electricity shortages had shaped the daily lives of Libyans since the fall of Moamar al-Gaddafi in a NATO-backed 2011 uprising.

A decade of stop-start fighting between rival armed groups followed, adding combat damage and looting to an already dilapidated grid in the North African country.

Power "outages were a disaster for my business", said Hanan al-Miladi, a 43-year-old baker who sells pastries online for weddings and other celebrations.

After 42 years in power, Gaddafi left behind obsolete infrastructure, an economy largely dependent on oil, and an underskilled workforce.

To protect the network and prevent overloads, the General Electricity Company of Libya (Gecol) resorted to widespread power cuts over the past 10 years during the peak consumption periods of summer and winter.

Until last year, outages could last 10 or even 20 hours, turning the city's streets dark and leaving residents sweltering in summer temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) without air conditioning.

The most "unbearable thing was never knowing when the power would go out or for how many hours", said Miladi.

But with new management at Gecol since last year, along with a relatively stable security situation, Libyans now receive a markedly improved electricity supply.

Manager sacked

Head of the interim Government of National Unity (GNU) Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah, who is also the Gecol chairman, sacked the previous manager in July 2022.

He also made sure the power company's new boss saw through projects, including a plan for maintenance of damaged infrastructure and tight control of funds to curb corruption.

Some foreign companies have now even revived projects they had suspended in Libya.

"The situation has improved, and customers notice it," said 34-year-old butcher Moaed Zayani, who also sells frozen products.

To avoid countless sleepless nights, Libyans did adapt to the power outages.

Buying batteries costing a few hundred dinars (tens of dollars), they could power a television set and one or two lamps, as well as provide basic internet connectivity.

Those who could afford it spent thousands of dollars on buying noisy, polluting fuel-guzzling generators.

But "even with a generator, refrigerators weaken after 10 hours", said Zayani.

The roar of generators hasn't completely gone away -- it returned in a July heatwave -- but not a week goes by without Gecol announcing the arrival of new equipment at the country's roughly 20 power plants.

'Return to life'

The electricity supply has improved countrywide, although the boost to Tripoli's was the most dramatic and significant.

Electricity network stability is the foundation of the "Return to Life" campaign launched by the city government, and is slowly restoring Tripoli's soul.

Residents proudly nickname their city "Siren of the Mediterranean" for its attractive seafront.

"It's clear that administrative stability within Gecol has contributed to the stability of the power network," said Mohamad Rahoumi, 53, spokesman for a pastry brand.

"But consumers also have a role to play in reducing their consumption and paying their bills."

Libyan electricity rates are among the lowest in the region, at 0.050 dinars (one US cent) per kilowatt-hour for individuals and 0.20 dinars for businesses.

"The government's efforts are visible, but citizens still have a constant apprehension due to instability," said 34-year-old downtown bartender Abdelmalek Fathallah.

In August, clashes between two militias using rocket launchers and machine guns killed 55 people. It was Tripoli's worst unrest in more than a year.

Although such incidents are less frequent, they "can erupt at any moment", destroying infrastructure as well as people's homes, Fathallah said.

Still, the lights shining in Tripoli's medina and silhouetting the adjacent Red Castle, a 16th-century fortress built by the Spanish, symbolize hope for a brighter future.



US-Ukraine Minerals Deal: What We Know

FILE - President Donald Trump, right, meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office at the White House, Feb. 28, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/ Mystyslav Chernov, File)
FILE - President Donald Trump, right, meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office at the White House, Feb. 28, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/ Mystyslav Chernov, File)
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US-Ukraine Minerals Deal: What We Know

FILE - President Donald Trump, right, meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office at the White House, Feb. 28, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/ Mystyslav Chernov, File)
FILE - President Donald Trump, right, meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office at the White House, Feb. 28, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/ Mystyslav Chernov, File)

Washington and Kyiv have signed a new minerals deal that will see the United States invest in Ukraine's rare earth and other deposits as it seeks to reduce military aid to the war-torn country.

The deal came together after US President Donald Trump demanded compensation for US aid given to Ukraine under his predecessor Joe Biden's administration, and follows weeks of delays following a spat in late February between Trump and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky, AFP said.

Here's what we know about the agreement -- which lacks any explicit security guarantees for Ukraine:

- What's in the deal? -

Under the terms of the deal announced on Wednesday, Ukraine and the United States will establish a joint Reconstruction Investment Fund.

The fund will be controlled by a company with "equal representation of three Ukrainian and three American board members," the US Treasury Department said in a statement.

The agreement covers 57 types of resources, including oil and gas.

If the United States decides to buy the resources, they will be given "first choice to either acquire them or designate the purchaser of our choice," the Treasury Department said.

The new fund "will receive 50 percent of royalties, license fees, and other similar payments from natural resource projects in Ukraine," according to the US Treasury.

Its profits will be invested exclusively in Ukraine for the first 10 years, after which profits "may be distributed between the partners," Kyiv said.

What resources does Ukraine have?

Ukraine holds about five percent of the world's mineral resources and rare earths, according to various estimates.

But work has not yet started on tapping many of the resources and a number of sites are in territory now controlled by Russian forces.

Ukraine also has around 20 percent of the world's graphite, an essential material for electric batteries, according to France's Bureau of Geological and Mining Research, and is a major producer of manganese and titanium.

It also says it possesses one of the largest lithium deposits in Europe, which is yet to be extracted.

Kyiv says "rare earth metals are known to exist in six deposits" and an investment of $300 million would be needed to develop a deposit at Novopoltavske, which it claimed was one of the world's largest.

Does Ukraine have to repay the US?

Trump demanded compensation for US aid given to Ukraine under his predecessor Joe Biden's administration.

But under the terms of the deal signed this week, Ukraine will not be asked to pay back the billions of dollars it has received from the United States since Russia's invasion of the country in February 2022.

New military aid from Washington will be counted as its contribution to the fund, according to the text of the agreement.

Ukraine said it will maintain full control over its subsoil, infrastructure and natural resources throughout the process.

Kyiv noted that the agreement does not impact its bid for integration with the European Union.

What does US support mean for Ukraine?

Ukraine has said any deal would need to include long-term and robust security guarantees that would deter Russia from attacking again.

But the text does not place any specific security obligations on the United States.

It simply says that the United States "supports Ukraine's efforts to obtain the security assurances necessary to build a lasting peace."

However, a US Treasury statement notably mentioned Russia's "full-scale invasion" of Ukraine -- diverging from the Trump administration's usual formulation of a "conflict" for which Kyiv bears a large degree of responsibility.

"This is win-win for both sides," US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox Business on Thursday.

"I think this is a strong signal to the Russian leadership," he said.