Temperature rising in south Yemen as rivalries fuel power shortage

Workers stand at the yard of the state-owned al-Haswa power station in Aden, Yemen June 2, 2021. REUTERS/Wael al-Qubati.

ADEN (Reuters) - In Yemen's southern port city of Aden, Nawfal al-Mojamal struggles to keep Soviet-era machinery running at the main power plant as electricity outages fray the nerves of residents already fed up with poor services and political wrangling.

Only two turbines out of five at the diesel-fired al-Hasswa plant are still running, producing up to 50 megawatts (MW) of power in a region where the deficit hovers around 300 MW. Piles of trash make the building seem abandoned and dust and diesel particles fill the air.