Syria in the dark: Land without electricity - government is fighting desperately

Syria in the dark: Land without electricity - government is fighting desperately

on Tuesday evening, April 1, 2025, there was a nationwide power failure in Syria. According to a spokesman for the Ministry of Energy, malfunctions are the reason for this failure in several places on the power grid. While the authorities are working on a solution, the country continues to suffer from serious electricity bottlenecks. In many regions, the citizens only have two to three hours of electricity available daily. Before the fall of President Bashar al-Assad, Syria was dependent on oil deliveries from Iran, but after the takeover of the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham in December, which further tightened the already difficult situation.

The str can not only has economic, but also everyday effects on the Syrian population. Rana al-Ahmad, a mother of four children, describes the challenges that she and her family experience particularly during Ramadan. Due to the state electricity, which is only available for two hours a day, your refrigerator is almost empty, and you have not been able to afford a solar system to improve the supply. Her husband, taxi driver in Damascus, also contributes to the tense financial situation. The new transitional authorities under President Ahmed al-Sharaa have been fighting since the Assad Dynasty has fallen with the damaged infrastructure of the country and find no way to cope with the urgent problems.

power supply and transitional government

The UN estimates that 90 % of Syrians live in poverty. The transitional government has taken various measures to relieve the str can, but without any significant success. A recently completed gas deal with Qatar and agreements with Kurdish authorities should enable access to oil fields, but the power supply remains insufficient. The transition minister for electricity, Omar Shaqrouq, also admitted that 24-hour power supply was not in sight. Despite a new deal that is supposed to deliver gas over Jordan to a large work south of Damascus, the challenges are enormous.

In addition, around 85 % of Syrian oil production come from the northeastern provinces that are under Kurdish control. These oil fields, which were badly damaged during the rule of ISIS, now only produce a fraction of the earlier amount. For example, the Rmeilan oil fields deliver only 15,000 of 100,000 barrels produced to other parts of Syria, which makes it difficult to search for alternative energy sources.

economic effects of the crisis

The economic situation of Syria is alarming. The high unemployment rate of 43.5 % and a public debt of 123.8 % of gross domestic product also puts a strain on people. It is estimated that the country needs between 250 and 1 trillion US dollar to reconstruction after the conflict lasted over 14 years. In the international community there are different approaches to support reconstruction, whereby many countries are establishing conditions. Sanctions of the EU and the United States not only affect the economy, but also restrict access to humanitarian aid, which also tightens the emergency of the Syrian population.

The return to a stable energy supply is crucial for the economic recovery of Syria. While the new authorities have difficulty establishing control and restoring the damaged infrastructure, the situation in most Syrian cities remains tense and dark, only highlights occasional street lamps and the headlights of cars.

Overall, the current state of power supply in Syria is a serious humanitarian and economic crisis that is due to the decades of political and military conflicts in the country. The challenges that the Syrian population faces are enormous and require extensive international support.

For further information on the current developments in Syria, read the reports of OE24 , Arab News and swp berlin .