Economy · Libya's $1B fuel billLibya's Blackouts Drag Into August Despite $1 Billion in Monthly Fuel ImportsAired August 19, 2026 at 8:00 AM UTCWritten September 7, 2026 at 9:22 PM UTCRead the write-upThis storyTranscript · LOADING0:00Hundreds of thousands of people [music]0:01in Libya lost power in July and remain0:03without reliable electricity into0:05August. And when the grid fails, water0:07stops, too. The outages are being driven0:09by fuel shortages [music] and a fragile0:11electricity network, even though the0:13country holds abundant oil and gas, with0:15large-scale diversion [music] of0:16subsidized fuel draining the supply0:18meant to keep power plants running. The0:20failure hits more than lights. With0:22pumps and plants [music] stalled,0:24neighborhoods lose both electricity and0:26water at once, exposing how fragile the0:28network has become. The paradox shows on0:31the import bill. The National Oil0:33Corporation is spending about $1 billion0:35every month to bring in fuel, while0:37shortages still leave power [music]0:38plants idle. That fuel strain is0:40compounding a fiscal squeeze. Salary0:43increases tied to the Libyan [music]0:44National Army were requested in December0:462025 and implemented in June 2026,0:49[music] tightening pressure on the0:50Central Bank. On 9 of August 2026, the0:52Central Bank Governor sent a letter0:54requesting relief. As of 19 August, the0:56Unified Development Program remains0:58stalled, though National Oil Corporation1:00fuel tranches [music] have been1:01dispatched. Against that failure, a1:02political roadmap has advanced. A 4 + 41:05committee reached its conclusion after1:07seven meetings since 29th of April, and1:09a six-month [music] structured dialogue1:11was completed on 6 June. At the same1:13time, Western Coast clashes and drone1:15strikes on the Zawiya [music] refinery,1:17alongside rights concerns, are1:19underscoring the urgency of unified1:21institutions and elections. What is1:23unresolved now is whether those1:25dispatched [music] fuel tranches will be1:26enough to end shortages. What1:28accountability will stop the diversion,1:30and what concrete timeline exists to1:32stabilize the network and restore1:34reliable power and water for the1:36hundreds of thousands affected? [music]1:38Like and follow for more stories that1:40matter.Explore with HeyDexThe shortThe short ↗