information:filtering
Energy

Before the civil war, Yemen's electricity was primarily supplied by the Ma'rib gas-fired power plant, which came online in 2009 and supplied 27 to 40 percent of the country's electricity while active. (Before that, the power came from six diesel power plants in Sanaa itself.) The Ma'rib plant is connected to the Bani Hushaysh substation by a power line with a capacity of 400 kV, and the Bani Hushaysh substation is then connected to substations in Dhahban and Hizyaz by two 132-kV lines. However, the Ma'rib-Sanaa power line was frequently targeted by attacks; there were 54 attacks on the power line between 2010 and 2013. The Ma'rib plant ceased operations in 2015.

The Dhahban and Hizyaz substations also have generating capacity in addition to being supplied by the Ma'rib plant. The Dhahban station is the main one in Sanaa; located 10 km northwest of the city, it had an original generating capacity of 20 MW, with another 30 MW installed during the 2000s, bringing the total to 50 MW. The Hizyaz station consists of three power plants: the first, with a capacity of 30 MW, was completed in 2002. Another 60 MW plant was added in 2004, and then in 2007 the third plant, with a capacity of 30 MW, was also completed.

While most of prewar Sanaa was connected to the electrical grid, including at least partial coverage in most of the city's 35 informal settlements, access to electricity was unreliable. Power outages were common, and one 2011 report suggested that electricity was only available for one hour per day.

The civil war has severely impacted the energy sector in Yemen, due to several factors including damage from attacks, lack of funding for maintenance, and fuel shortages. As of 2018, 43% of Sanaa's energy assets were destroyed, while another 38% had suffered partial damage; in addition, 81% of the facilities were not functioning. As a result, the public power supply in Sanaa has become almost nonexistent: of the daily 500 MW electricity demand in the city, the city receives 40 MW. The public electricity supply is now mostly or entirely supplied by the Hizyaz station, whose capacity has been reduced to 7 MW. Public grid access covers around 2% of the population, mostly in nearby neighborhoods, and it is expensive for consumers. Private services using their generators also sell electricity to customers; they cover another 2.8% and cost about as much as the public supply. The largest share of electrical supply in Sanaa came from privately owned solar panels and diesel generators, which together covered 30% of the population. Solar power rapidly gained popularity in Yemen in 2015, and in 2016, it became the leading source of electricity in the country.

Prices of fuel and diesel in Yemen have risen dramatically since the start of the war; current prices are 150% of what they were in 2017. The most recent crisis in Sanaa came in September 2019, leading to days-long lines at gas stations. Black market prices can be three times higher than the official ones, leaving many unable to afford fuel.