<div><main data-testid="main-content" id="main-content"><article><header></header><div data-component="image-block"><figure><p><span><picture><source srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/F1D2/production/_131460916_gettyimages-1129463172.jpg.webp 240w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/F1D2/production/_131460916_gettyimages-1129463172.jpg.webp 320w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/F1D2/production/_131460916_gettyimages-1129463172.jpg.webp 480w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/624/cpsprodpb/F1D2/production/_131460916_gettyimages-1129463172.jpg.webp 624w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/F1D2/production/_131460916_gettyimages-1129463172.jpg.webp 800w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/976/cpsprodpb/F1D2/production/_131460916_gettyimages-1129463172.jpg.webp 976w" type="image/webp"></source><img alt="Guinea Bissau capital in 2019" height="549" loading="eager" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/976/cpsprodpb/F1D2/production/_131460916_gettyimages-1129463172.jpg" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/F1D2/production/_131460916_gettyimages-1129463172.jpg 240w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/F1D2/production/_131460916_gettyimages-1129463172.jpg 320w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/F1D2/production/_131460916_gettyimages-1129463172.jpg 480w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/624/cpsprodpb/F1D2/production/_131460916_gettyimages-1129463172.jpg 624w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/F1D2/production/_131460916_gettyimages-1129463172.jpg 800w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/976/cpsprodpb/F1D2/production/_131460916_gettyimages-1129463172.jpg 976w" width="976"></img></picture></span><span role="text"><span>Image source, </span>AFP</span></p><figcaption><span>Image caption, </span><p>Guinea-Bissau is one of the world's poorest countries</p></figcaption></figure></div><div data-component="byline-block"><div><div><div><p>By Gloria Aradi &amp;  Yūsuf Akínpẹ̀lú</p><p>BBC News</p></div></div></div></div><div data-component="text-block"><p><b>A Turkish firm has cut power supplies to Guinea-Bissau's capital over an unpaid bill of at least $15m (£12m), plunging the city into darkness.</b></p></div><div data-component="text-block"><p>It has severely disrupted daily life, with hospitals affected and radio stations off-air. </p></div><div data-component="text-block"><p>Economy Minister Suleimane Seidi acknowledged the arrears, saying most of the bill would be paid in 15 days.</p></div><div data-component="text-block"><p>Karpowership is one of the world's biggest floating power plant operators, supplying several African states.</p></div><div data-component="text-block"><p>But it has taken a tough line over non-payment. Last month, it cut power to Sierra Leone's capital, Freetown, over an unpaid bill of $40m.</p></div><div data-component="text-block"><p>The Turkish company has also signed a deal to supply power to South Africa, saying it will cover more than 5% of the country's total electricity needs.</p></div><div data-component="text-block"><p>South Africa has been hit by a wave of power cuts with people going without electricity for up to 10 hours a day.</p></div><div data-component="text-block"><p>Power was cut in Bissau, a city with a population of more than 400,000, in the early hours of Tuesday and has not been restored, a resident told the BBC.</p></div><div data-component="text-block"><p>Some public hospitals are now using generators to carry out surgery, local journalist Assana Sambu told the BBC.</p></div><div data-component="text-block"><p>But they don't have running water because there is not enough electricity, and hospital directors have appealed for power in order to cook food for their patients.</p></div><div data-component="text-block"><p>Another journalist, Alberto Dabo, said he was drinking water from a well because water supplies had been cut amid the sweltering heat which reaches 40C.</p></div><div data-component="text-block"><p>"Our houses are very hot. Most families stay outside till 4am before entering their houses to spend the rest of the night. You can't stay indoors because of the heat."</p></div><div data-component="text-block"><p>State-run Rádio Nacional is among media outlets that have stopped broadcasting, while the private radio station where Sambu works is only partially operating, he added. </p></div><div data-component="text-block"><p>Karpowership says it has been supplying 100% of Guinea-Bissau's electricity since signing a five-year agreement with the state-owned electricity and water utility company in 2019.</p></div><div data-component="text-block"><p>The country is one of the poorest in the world and has been beset by instability since independence.</p></div><div data-component="text-block"><p>"Unfortunately, following a protracted period of non-payment, our [floating power plant] is now unable to continue operating," a Karpowership spokesperson was quoted by the Reuters news agency as saying. </p></div><div data-component="text-block"><p>"We are working around the clock with officials to resolve this issue and we aim to have generation back online as soon as possible," the spokesperson added.</p></div><div data-component="text-block"><p>Energy Minister Isuf Baldé said $6m of the $15m bill had been paid.</p></div><div data-component="text-block"><p>"In a small and poor country like Guinea-Bissau, carrying out a transfer operation of this level, $10m, takes time," he said.</p></div><div data-component="text-block"><p>He added that the contract with Karpowership needed to be renegotiated because costs had almost doubled since it began, to a level Guinea-Bissau could no longer afford.</p></div><div data-component="text-block"><p>The company also supplies electricity to six other African countries - Ghana, The Gambia, Ivory Coast, Mozambique, Senegal and Sierra Leone.</p></div><div data-component="text-block"><p>The company prides itself as "the owner, operator and builder of the world's only Powership (floating power plant)".</p></div><div data-component="text-block"><p>Its involvement in the electricity sector is the latest example of Tukey's growing influence in Africa.</p></div><div data-component="text-block"><p>Although access to electricity has increased in sub-Saharan Africa in recent years, it still remains low, with more than 50% of the region's population having no grid connection, according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad).</p></div></article></main></div>