The General Electricity Company of Libya (GECOL) said a total blackout had hit Tripoli and the western zone which is the second in few hours only.

GECOL appealed to ‘‘citizens’’ not to turn power on for their locality ‘‘by force’’ which it said leads to the total collapse of the electric grid and a blackout.

It also appealed to ‘‘citizens’’ to accept planned power cuts so that what power is generated is shared out to different regions and cities of the country.