The only power plant in Gaza stopped operation on Wednesday night due to severe shortage of fuel, causing a complete blackout in the coastal enclave, officials in Gaza said.
Officials in the Hamas-run power corporation told Xinhua that they have turned off the last of four turbines of the station in southern Gaza.
The Gaza Strip, with a population of more than two million, has been going through a severe power crisis since mid April due to disputes between Hamas movement, which rules the enclave, and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on taxes.
The Gaza power corporation officials said the coastal enclave that has been under a tight Israeli siege for more than ten years needs around 500 megawatts of power.
If the station fully operates with its four turbines, it will generate around 80 megawatts, with 120 megawatts received from Israel and around 30 megawatts received from Egypt.
This situation has been going on since 2007, when Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip, where the power supplies to the civilians were cut off constantly.
The power station since April has not generated any megawatts, while Israel reduced its power supplies to the Gaza Strip to 55 megawatts and the Egyptian power lines are always damaged due to the security situation in Sinai.
Two weeks ago, Egypt shipped around 4 million litters of fuel to Gaza to make the only station operative, however, the power shortage in the Gaza Strip has never been solved.
--IANS
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