Power outages yemen

SANAA, Yemen (AP) — Yemeni authorities deployed security forces and armored vehicles across the port city of Aden on Wednesday, as protesters were expected to take to the streets in the latest in a series of protests over hours-long electricity outages caused by a shortage of fuel for power stations.

For several days, hundreds of demonstrators in three central districts of Aden blocked roads and set tires on fire, protesting electricity shortages as temperatures soared to 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit).

On Monday and Tuesday, security forces moved in to disperse the demonstrations, beating protesters with batons and barricading the entrances of some streets, three witnesses told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

Aden, home to one million people, is governed by the Southern Transitional Council, a group backed by the United Arab Emirates that controls much of the south in the country fractured by nine years of civil war. The STC is allied to the internationally recognized government fighting the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels, who control the capital Sanaa and much of the north and center of Yemen.

In recent weeks, electricity outages reached up to 10 hours a day in Aden or up to 20 hours in neighboring Abyan province, according to residents. However, outages lasted only eight hours on Wednesday. The cause of the outages is a shortage of diesel fuel for power stations, the spokesman for Aden''s electricity corporation, Nawar Akbar, said in a Facebook post Sunday.

The finances of the Southern Transitional Council, which governs Aden, have been strained ever since Yemen''s oil exports were halted more than a year ago. Additionally, attacks by Yemen''s Houthis, who control the country''s north and the capital of Sanaa, on international shipping in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden have disrupted deliveries of fuel to the south. The attacks are in retaliation for Israel''s seven-month-old assault in Gaza.

The impoverished nation has oil fields in the south, a major source of income, but has limited refining capacity and so must import refined fuel.

A commercial fuel tanker was expected at the port of Aden, but the importer refuses to unload the cargo before receiving payment in advance, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the internal disputes

Moammar al-Eryani, the information minister and government spokesperson, did not immediately respond to requests for comment by the AP.

Akbar, of the electricity corporation, said authorities had gotten fuel to one of Aden''s power stations Sunday morning and that there were plans to bring in 800 tons of diesel for other stations Monday. There was no subsequent official confirmation whether that had taken place.

Aden has always faced power outages, but those used to only last between four to five hours a day, according to residents. The electricity shortage was cited by Human Rights Watch in a November report highlighting the failure by the Yemeni government and the STC to provide Aden residents with basic rights to water and electricity.

They "have an obligation to provide access to adequate water and electricity in Aden," said Niku Jafarnia, Yemen and Bahrain researcher at Human Rights Watch. "And yet, when residents have protested the cuts, security forces have responded by firing on them."

AL-MUKALLA: Power outages in Yemen''s southern city of Aden worsened on Thursday as private electricity generators turned off supplies in protest over unpaid bills.

Amid sweltering summer temperatures, the city''s state-run electricity company reported that many of the private firms that supplied the city with electricity had progressively withdrawn their services in a bid to put pressure on the government to meet outstanding payments.

Aden, Yemen''s interim capital, was among the cities liberated from Iran-backed Houthis occupation in 2015.

But it has been beset by escalating power outages, deteriorating infrastructure, and an economic collapse that has left thousands of its residents unemployed or struggling to make ends meet.

Electricity supplies regularly drop out for long periods of the day when summer temperatures and humidity peak.

Resident Noman Al-Hakeem said that as power outages increased, many people had turned to solar power, fans, and other devices to keep cool.

In a Facebook post, he said: "Any nation that cannot provide its citizens with electricity has no right to exist."

Over recent months, the Yemeni government and Aden Gov. Ahmed Hamed Lamlas have traded verbal blows over who was to blame for failing to deal with the power supply crisis.

The government responded by saying it was committed to providing electricity to the people of Aden and noted that it had spent nearly $1.8 million per day on maintaining power for eight hours daily in Aden.

Power services in the city reportedly absorb around 60 percent of state electricity expenditure across government-controlled areas of the country.

Zayad Ahmed, another Aden resident, suggested Yemen''s government and presidential council should phase out using private power plants and instead build their own while developing an energy plan for the next 50 years.

Local officials in Aden were unavailable for comment on the situation but a government official told Arab News that the presidential council had tasked one of its members, Aidaroos Al-Zubaidi, with the job of finding a swift solution to the power outages problem in Aden, including by renting a floating power plant.

The official, who wished to remain anonymous, said: "There is a delay in the completion of some emergency projects that were supposed to be operational in June.

"However, council member Aidaroos Al-Zubaidi is tasked with implementing quick solutions, such as employing an international company offshore to generate additional energy."

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The constant interruptions in power supply have led to furious demonstrations across the city. On Tuesday, protesters took to the streets, blocking roads and igniting tires. The unrest prompted a response from security forces, resulting in four people being wounded.

Local security authorities conveyed sympathy for the residents’ frustrations in a press statement but also issued warnings against property destruction or sabotage.

The power crisis has thrown daily life into chaos and has intensified the challenges of the hot summer months. Residents complain that the outages pose serious risks to the elderly and those with specific health issues.

Aden has faced instability since it became Yemen’s temporary capital after the Houthi takeover of Sanaa. The current electricity crisis stands as one of the most formidable challenges faced by the city in recent years.

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