Sudan power grid on brink as drone strikes target substations

Sudan’s power grid is on the verge of total collapse after drone strikes destroyed substations in two northern towns on Sunday. The attacks are the latest in a series of blows to the country’s electricity infrastructure over the past week. Both Al-Dabbah in Northern state and Abu Hamad in River Nile state are now without power.

The Sudanese government and the rights group Emergency Lawyers attribute the strikes to the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. Emergency Lawyers reports that fifteen substations have been targeted since early October. This leaves the national grid reliant on a small number of remaining power plants.

Residents of Al-Dabbah reported a massive explosion shortly after 4 a.m. on Sunday. The town has absorbed thousands of people who fled after the Rapid Support Forces captured Al Fasher last year. Abbas Wadaa, a local resident, described the initial impact. “We heard a huge explosion that shook the houses, and then the power went out,” Wadaa said.

Witnesses said the substation was completely burned when they arrived after sunrise. The station’s guard, Mohammed al-Nour, was killed in the attack. Wadaa noted that a large crowd attended his funeral. The outage has halted operations at local markets, hospitals, and bakeries.

Seif al-Rawasi, a baker in Al-Dabbah, said he relies on a generator but the city is running out of diesel. He plans to close his business if electricity does not return. “We don’t know why the RSF is targeting citizens by destroying power stations,” al-Rawasi said. Farmers in the area face additional risks as the winter growing season begins because irrigation pumps require electricity or diesel.

In Abu Hamad, a drone strike on the same day destroyed the local substation. The local security committee reported no casualties in that specific incident. The attack disrupted water supplies and business activity in both towns. The Sudan Doctors Network warned that the outages threaten hospitals, dialysis centers, and blood banks. The group also noted that cold storage for medicines and vaccines is at risk.

The series of attacks began late Wednesday with a strike on the Um Dabakir thermal power station in White Nile state. An employee at the Sudan Electric Holding Company, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the plant has a capacity of 500 megawatts. The attack destroyed four transformers and damaged three generating units. The station’s director stated that White Nile and North Kordofan states have been cut off from the grid. The regional network director said the damage will affect the area for months.

Early Friday, a drone carrying four missiles hit Shendi’s main substation. The local security committee said the strike also damaged a reserve depot and an army air defense hangar, wounding one soldier. According to the Sudan Electric Holding Company employee, the Merowe Dam is now the last major power source in the country. The dam has a capacity of 1,250 megawatts and provides more than 70 percent of Sudan’s electricity. Other hydroelectric dams in the country produce a combined total of no more than 100 megawatts.

Electricity production in Sudan had already fallen from 4,400 megawatts before the war to 1,100 megawatts prior to the latest strikes. Many residents who can afford it have switched to solar panels to manage the blackouts. A solar business owner in Khartoum told The Associated Press earlier this year that a typical household system costs nearly 5,000 dollars, a price point beyond the reach of most families. Sudan’s Foreign Ministry said on Saturday that the drones were supplied by the United Arab Emirates and launched from Ethiopia. The UAE has repeatedly denied arming the Rapid Support Forces. The Rapid Support Forces did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The war has killed at least 59,000 people and displaced approximately 13 million, according to aid groups.