Private power generation plants in the capital Sana'a and other governorates under the control of the Houthi group, internationally designated as a terrorist organization, threatened on Sunday, August 4, 2024, to cut off electricity supply after three days, in protest against what they described as "arbitrary practices" by Houthi leaders.

According to a joint statement by the electricity generation and distribution sector of the Sana'a Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Association of Private Power Generation Plants, seen by Barran Press, the service "will not be available in the coming days if an end is not put to the practices and transgressions of the Minister of Electricity in the Houthi government (not recognized), "Mohammed al-Bukhaiti."

The statement said that "partial power outages will occur if their demands are not met, for one hour starting Wednesday evening from 8 pm to 9 pm for three days, until the complete shutdown of electricity."

The statement held "al-Bukhaiti" fully responsible for the situation facing power plant investors due to his stubbornness and ill-considered decisions, noting that "the complex and multifaceted problems faced by private power plants, which are in an unenviable situation due to continuous arbitrary actions, procedures, and major harassment issued by the Houthi leader "al-Bukhaiti" against private power plants."

The statement explained that "al-Bukhaiti's" "irresponsible" actions, as they described them, have put the plants "at risk of losing their capital, while "al-Bukhaiti" has closed some plants, in addition to a series of other previous systematic arbitrary actions, and refused to open channels of communication to settle disputes amicably in a way that guarantees the rights of investors and ensures the continuity of service."

The statement accused "al-Bukhaiti" of "rejecting all directives to stop these arbitrary practices against private power plants after submitting numerous complaints and grievances to the relevant authorities, and insisting on creating an environment that is hostile to investment, ending partnerships and cooperation between the public and private sectors, and placing obstacles in the way of the private sector that is seeking to provide a higher quality service at a lower price."

The statement said that "this failure that the Ministry of Electricity, and its leadership, is experiencing in protecting the rights of private power plants is a stumbling block to investors and their development visions in the near future at least."

The Association of Private Power Generation Plants held the Houthi leader "Mohammed al-Bukhaiti" fully responsible for the consequences of these problems that he is causing, reiterating its apology to the public benefiting from the service for the impending outage.