Moroccan Support for Mauritania's Electricity Crisis
In a proactive response to a significant electricity crisis, Morocco has dispatched a specialized technical team to Mauritania to assist in restoring power supply in multiple affected areas of Nouakchott. This urgent mission follows two simultaneous fires that struck electrical substations in the northern and western regions of Nouakchott. According to Mauritanian media reports, the Moroccan team comes equipped with essential tools and equipment aimed at supporting local authorities in getting the damaged power network back online.
Last Friday, the Mauritanian electricity company, Somelec, announced an unexpected interruption in power supply attributable to a major fire at the East secondary transformer station, which operates at a voltage of 33/15 kilovolts. This facility is critical as it powers vast sectors within Nouakchott-North and several surrounding areas. In their official statement, Somelec indicated that the incident led to partial service disruptions in the municipalities of Dar Naïm and Toujounine, as well as in certain parts of Arafat. The electrical line connecting Nouakchott to Oued Naga, Idini, and Awleigat was also affected, with Somelec assuring that its teams are actively working to restore power despite the technical challenges encountered.
A second fire was reported at a 33/15 kilovolt transformer station in Nouakchott-West, which has left most neighborhoods in Tevragh-Zeina, as well as significant portions of the Ksar and Sebkha municipalities, without electricity. Further disruptions impacted the line supplying Agnoudert, the Oum Tounsi International Airport, and the Tanit port. Technical teams on the ground had to wait for firefighters to completely control the flames before commencing site security operations. Somelec emphasized that these emergency incidents present complex technical challenges, but assured that all available human and material resources are being mobilized to gradually restore service.
Government Response and Investigations
On Monday, the public enterprise responsible for electricity production, transmission, and distribution in Mauritania announced the installation of a temporary transformer station intended to replace the northern distribution station, which serves a large portion of Nouakchott-West. They estimate that this new infrastructure will cover approximately 60% of the load previously managed by the damaged facility, while additional solutions are being deployed to address the remaining capacity. In light of the situation, Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani visited the transformer station in Nouakchott-West to assess the damage firsthand. In a brief statement on the presidential Facebook page, he called for urgent measures to mitigate the incident's consequences and expedite the restoration of electricity in the affected areas.
The President also instructed the government to mobilize all necessary logistical and human resources to accelerate the recovery efforts for the power network. Additionally, he ordered an investigation to determine the causes of the failures affecting the two electrical substations and to establish any potential accountability. Concurrently, the Organization for Global Transparency, which is active in the fight against corruption and the oversight of public contracts in Mauritania, has suggested that high-capacity electrical cables used in the distribution network may be implicated. The organization claims that these cables were procured through a tender related to Nouakchott's emergency development program.
In their statement, the organization noted that initial investigations suggest these cables might not meet the required technical specifications and could potentially be defective or counterfeit. This situation, they argue, could explain the outages and fires experienced at both electrical substations. Moreover, other cables have been disconnected as a precautionary measure to prevent further incidents on other infrastructures. The organization concludes that the contracts related to the acquisition of this equipment appear to be linked to commercial interests involving influential members of the Mauritanian Parliament. This assertion comes at a time when authorities have yet to release the official findings of the investigation announced by the presidency.
As reported by fr.hespress.com.
