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- October 19, 202617°
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Tunisia's Muslims struggle under 49°C heat, energy crisis, and prison conditions
Record temperatures and widespread power outages in Tunisia have paralyzed daily life, leading to economic losses and humanitarian concerns for prisoners. President Kais Saied said those responsible must be held accountable.
Tunisia is grappling with prolonged nationwide power outages amid extreme temperatures reaching 49°C. State electricity and gas company STEG has been issuing controlled outage warnings for days to reduce the excessive load on the grid.
STEG CEO Faycel Trifa announced that heavy air conditioner use has pushed the electricity system to its limit. According to a statement by a company official to state television, electricity demand may have reached a record 6 gigawatts on Tuesday. A few days earlier, the figure was recorded at 5.6 gigawatts.
Although power and water cuts have occurred in previous summers, this year's outages have spread across much of the country. Some residents reported that their electricity was cut for up to six hours at a time, while others said they were left in the dark for even longer periods.
A worker at a pastry shop in the capital Tunis said, 'I feel like God has opened the gates of hell,' pointing to his spoiled goods. The outages have become one of the country's main topics of discussion both on social media and in the streets. Citizens express fear of getting trapped in elevators.
President Kais Saied described the repeated outages as abnormal and said those responsible for the failures must be held accountable.
Aging infrastructure and economic blow
STEG stated that the controlled outages are necessary to prevent a nationwide power collapse. Professor Hela Tlili from Tunis El Manar University noted that the electricity system is struggling under record summer demand and the peak tourism season. Tlili said, 'Demand is increasing much faster than production,' pointing to the aging grid and insufficient maintenance work.
Tunisia remains heavily dependent on natural gas for electricity generation. Declining domestic production increases reliance on imports, while financial pressures strain the state utility. Employers' organization CONECT reported that the lack of precise schedules for planned outages makes it difficult for companies to prepare for production. A factory worker said that work has nearly ground to a halt for two days due to the repeated cuts.
Humanitarian crisis and call for a paradigm shift
The extreme heat has also raised concerns about prison conditions. Advocates say inmates are being held in cells not equipped to withstand high temperatures. Cardiologist Dhaker Lahidheb, who has a large following, called on President Saied to launch what he described as a 'climate pardon' for prisoners with chronic illnesses who have not been convicted of serious crimes.
Professor Tlili said Tunisia must accelerate the development of renewable energy. She noted that the country has enormous solar potential and favorable conditions for wind energy, but the biggest challenge will be storing electricity. Tlili argued that Tunisia needs 'a paradigm shift' to diversify its energy sources.
Meanwhile, many Tunisians are struggling to cope with the heat. Mariem, who lives in the working-class suburb of Bhar Lazreg north of the capital Tunis, said she cannot afford an air conditioner and her fan has broken. 'I slept on the floor to find some coolness,' Mariem said, explaining that her son slept with a frozen water bottle wrapped in a towel on his chest.
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