Morocco has sent a specialized technical team and equipment to Mauritania to help restore electricity after two fires at power substations caused prolonged outages across parts of the capital, Mauritanian media reported.
The fires broke out simultaneously at substations in the northern and western parts of Nouakchott, disrupting electricity supplies to several neighborhoods and surrounding areas, according to the Mauritanian Electricity Company, known as SOMELEC.
SOMELEC said one fire broke out at the Eastern Substation, a 33/15-kilovolt medium-voltage facility supplying large parts of northern Nouakchott and nearby areas.
The outage affected parts of Dar Naim, Toujounine and Arafat districts, as well as the electricity line linking Nouakchott with Wadi Naga, Idini and Aouligat, the company said.
A second fire damaged a 33/15-kilovolt substation in western Nouakchott, cutting power to most of the Teyarett district and large parts of Ksar and Sebkha, as well as lines supplying Agnoudart, Oumtounsy International Airport and Tanit Port.
SOMELEC said its technical teams were working to restore electricity while firefighters secured the affected sites.
The public utility said Monday that it had installed an alternative substation to replace the northern distribution station, which supplies large parts of western Nouakchott. The replacement facility was expected to cover about 60% of the previous station’s load, with other substations being used to make up the remaining capacity.
Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani visited the western Nouakchott substation to inspect the damage and ordered the government to mobilize all available logistical and human resources to accelerate the restoration of electricity, according to a statement from the presidency.
Ghazouani also ordered an investigation into the causes of the failures at the two substations and the determination of responsibility for the damage.
The fires have also prompted allegations from a Mauritanian civil society group that the incidents could be linked to defective electrical cables.
The Comprehensive Transparency Organization, which monitors corruption and public procurement in Mauritania, said preliminary information indicated that the fires were “likely” connected to the use of large electrical cables purchased through a tender under a program for the urgent development of Nouakchott.
The group alleged that preliminary investigations suggested some of the cables may not have met required technical specifications or may have been counterfeit. It also claimed that other cables had been disconnected as a precaution to prevent damage to additional substations.
The organization further alleged that the procurement contracts for the cables were linked to commercial interests involving influential members of Mauritania’s Parliament.
The allegations have not been independently verified, and Mauritanian authorities have not publicly confirmed a link between the fires and the electrical cables.
SOMELEC has described the incidents as technically complex emergencies and said it was using all available resources to restore reliable electricity service as quickly as possible.
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