Tunisian Economy Observatory Challenges Climate-Related Power Outage Narrative
The Tunisian Economy Observatory (OTE) released a report on Saturday, August 1st, questioning the purely climate-related interpretation of the recent power outage campaign organized by the Tunisian Company of Electricity and Gas (STEG).
Key Findings
- From 2016 to 2020, STEG invested approximately 1.947 billion dinars in its production facilities.
- In the subsequent period, from 2021 to 2025, this amount decreased to 248 million dinars, representing a decline of 87%.
- Meanwhile, Tunisian electricity consumption continued to rise, with an average annual increase of 3.8% between 2021 and 2025.
- A historic peak was recorded on August 14, 2024, with 4,888 megawatts consumed in a single day.
Consequences of Underinvestment
The OTE notes that several production projects remain pending due to the lack of approval from the Ministry of Industry, Mines, and Energy, which has the final say in such matters. The Observatory further suggests that in recent years, public authorities have focused on private and foreign capital in the renewable energy sector, neglecting public funding for traditional production units.
Erosion of STEG's Capacity
According to the OTE, reducing the recent power outages to a simple heatwave episode would overlook the essential issue. The outages reveal the continuous erosion of the country's production capacity since 2021, resulting from political decisions and repeated administrative delays. The heatwave merely made visible a pre-existing fragility.
Opportunity for Private Investors
This decline in public investment in production presents an opportunity for private and foreign capital in the Tunisian energy sector. Actors positioned in solar, wind, or battery storage (BESS) operate in a context where the public offer structurally struggles to meet demand, a parameter to be integrated into any opportunity analysis on the Tunisian electricity market.
