Company Cuts Off Power to Country's Largest City

Bissau, the capital and largest city of Guinea-Bissau, has been left in the dark because of a massive unpaid power bill. Residents of the city, which has a population of almost 500,000, say the power went out early Tuesday and has not been restored, forcing hospitals to use emergency generators, the BBC reports. The power was cut off by Turkish company Karpowership, which operates floating power plants and has been supplying the West African country's electricity since 2019. The company says it is owed $17 million, reports Reuters.

"We are working around the clock with officials to resolve this issue and we aim to have generation back online as soon as possible," a Karpowership spokesperson said. Suleimane Seidi, finance minister of the former Portuguese colony, said negotiations are underway and promised that the bill would be handled within15 days. Karpowership supplies power to six other African countries: the Gambia, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Mozambique, Senegal and Sierra Leone, and it has signed a deal to supply some of South Africa's electricity as well. Last month, it cut off power to Freetown, Sierra Leone's capital, over an unpaid $40 million bill. (More Guinea-Bissau stories.)