Power cuts have been a fact of life for years for Naseem Al-Akkari, who owns a chain of restaurants in Libya’s capital, Tripoli. But it was not until this summer’s heatwaves that they ​began posing an existential threat to his business, inflicting an estimated $40,000 in losses in just a few months. “The generator has to run to prevent ‌goods from spoiling. You have no choice but to buy diesel from the black market to keep going,” he told Reuters during an interview in which the power went out more than 10 times. Soaring temperatures and global energy disruptions have combined with a raft of domestic problems from ageing infrastructure to rampant fuel smuggling to create an acute electricity and fuel crisis in Libya, a major oil producer ​trying to boost gas exports to Europe.

Full report : Libya power cuts push small businesses and weary citizens to brink.