Southern Yemen is facing a widening energy crisis, with residents of Aden enduring severe electricity shortages while Hadramut, the country's main oil-producing governorate, is experiencing sharp fuel price increases that are driving up transport costs and living expenses.
In Aden, the temporary capital of south Yemen, residents have staged nighttime protests over electricity cuts that have reached around 20 hours a day in recent days, amid rising temperatures. Many residents in districts including Al-Mualla, Sirah and Crater have been forced to sleep on the streets, in scenes that reflect the scale of hardship caused by prolonged power outages.
The electricity crisis has worsened since the start of 2026, with repeated supply interruptions and reduced output from key power stations. Al-Hiswa power station has gone out of service due to what authorities described as a "network strike", while the President power station reduced production last Sunday due to delays in crude oil deliveries needed to operate the generators.
Residents told The New Arab that the outages have disrupted daily life across the city, affecting water supply, health services, education and commercial activity. The shortages have also coincided with rising costs of food, transport and alternative energy sources, further increasing pressure on households.
The economic expert and professor of economics at the University of Aden, Mohammed Jamal Al-Shuaibi, told TNA that the suffering of Aden residents has reached unprecedented levels due to a complete paralysis of their lives and the city caused by electricity outages.
"This is what we warned about before the summer, that the improvement seen during the past period of this year was vulnerable to collapse if any disruption occurred in fuel supplies, as is happening now, or if demand increased, unless real strategic steps were taken," he added. The renewed crisis comes despite Saudi Arabia announcing, at the end of May, an urgent $150 million support package for Yemen, consisting of petroleum products to cover the operational needs of diesel-powered electricity stations across the country's governorates.
The package is the second support during 2026, following an earlier announcement at the start of the year of a fuel grant to purchase around 339 million litres of diesel and mazut, worth $81.2 million, from the PetroMasila fields in Hadramut, intended to supply more than 70 power stations in Yemen with fuel needed for operation.
The Ministry of Electricity and Energy in Aden said the grant will provide diesel and mazut to operate power plants until the end of 2026, adding that Saudi support will improve efficiency, increase output and help reduce blackout hours across areas under the internationally recognised Yemeni government. Oil and gas geologist Abdul Ghani Jaghman told TNA that the crisis is deeper than the government's capacity to address it, citing a structural gap in which support and aid are effectively lost due to the ageing, end-of-life condition of state power stations. He added that continued fuel support for these facilities is ineffective and that alternatives such as solar energy have so far had no meaningful impact in addressing the shortage. Meanwhile, in Hadramut, fuel prices have risen sharply following the implementation of a third and largest fuel price adjustment since mid-April. Diesel prices have increased by 50% to 1,800 riyals (around $7.5) per litre, compared with 1,200 riyals (about $5) previously.
The increase is expected to hit farmers and fishermen particularly hard, as both sectors rely heavily on diesel to operate irrigation pumps and fishing boats. Analysts warned that the price rise could trigger a wider inflationary wave affecting food, agriculture and fish supplies.
Fishermen in the coastal city of Mukalla told TNA that rising costs have made daily fishing trips increasingly unaffordable. Ghaith Barbaa said the new pricing has raised the cost of a 20-litre diesel container to 36,000 riyals (about $150), noting that most trips require more than two containers of fuel.
Another fisherman, Khamis bin Nasser, said crews are often forced to travel farther into the Arabian Sea and spend longer at sea, sometimes remaining overnight, to reach viable fishing grounds.
Long queues have formed at fuel stations in Mukalla and other parts of Hadramut amid fears of shortages and continued price instability. Residents said the increases threaten to paralyse transport and commercial activity across the governorate because of the long distances between towns and districts.
Mazen Bahamidi noted to TNA that rising fuel prices risk disrupting movement and trade. At the same time, Ahmed Abdul Qader said higher transport costs are placing additional burdens on employees who already travel long distances to reach their workplaces.
Economist Mohammed Al-Kassadi, head of the Department of Financial and Banking Sciences at Hadramut University, said that government plans to provide a cost-of-living allowance for public sector workers remain unclear on timing and value and are unlikely to offset the impact of rising prices.
He noted that diesel prices rose from 1,000 riyals (around $4) to 1,250 riyals (around $5), then to 1,800 riyals (around $7.5) in a short period. He also questioned whether the increases were justified, given that Hadramut is an oil-producing governorate with access to locally refined petroleum products.
The internationally recognised Yemeni government has formed an emergency committee to monitor fuel supplies and report daily to the Ministry of Oil and Minerals and the Prime Minister’s Office amid efforts to manage shortages and stabilise distribution.
Economists say Yemen remains highly vulnerable to external shocks due to its reliance on imported energy through Gulf supply routes, with disruptions quickly feeding into higher prices for goods and services.
Economist Youssef Shammasan Al-Maqtari said every $10 increase in global energy costs raises inflation in Yemen by around 0.4%, adding that rising shipping and insurance costs are further increasing import burdens and consumer prices.
In Aden, authorities continue to rely on fuel shipments and external support to sustain electricity generation. While in Hadramut, price controls and supply adjustments have been introduced in response to market pressures. However, both governorates remain exposed to structural weaknesses in Yemen’s wider energy system.
Together, the electricity crisis in Aden and the fuel price shock in Hadramut underline the fragility of energy security in government-controlled southern Yemen, where power generation, transport and basic services remain heavily dependent on unstable fuel supplies.
In areas under Houthi control , the Houthi-run Yemen Petroleum Company has announced urgent measures to investigate complaints that vehicles suffered breakdowns allegedly caused by “adulterated” petrol or fuel that did not meet specifications.
The company said preliminary findings suggest the cases are linked to working conditions and environmental factors during the unloading, transport and storage of petroleum products.
It added that its storage facilities had been destroyed by US and Israeli air strikes , according to its statement, saying this removed key infrastructure used to allow impurities to settle and fuel to be refined before distribution.
The company said all shipments undergo laboratory testing before release and that any findings will be announced once investigations are complete.
The announcement comes amid continued disruption in fuel supplies in Houthi-controlled areas. UN data shows fuel imports through the ports of Hodeidah , Salif, and Ras Issa fell by 76% in the first quarter of 2026 compared with the same period last year, while no fuel imports were recorded through those ports in March 2026, indicating significant strain on supply chains alongside wider regional tensions and restrictions on imports. A rticle translated from Arabic and compiled by Afrah Almatwari. To read the original articles, click here , here and here .