Damascus, Oct. 1 (SANA) Syria has begun gradually restoring gas supplies to the Deir Ali power plant after an explosion on a pipeline supplying the Tishreen plant in Damascus Countryside forced several generating stations offline, the Energy Ministry said Wednesday.
Technical teams have started repressurizing the Arab Gas Pipeline between Adra and Deir Ali, paving the way for the Deir Ali plant to return to service in stages, the ministry said. The pipeline and surrounding area will remain under technical monitoring during the restart.
Energy Minister Mohammad al-Bashir said the fire at Tishreen had been brought under control, while Civil Defense teams continued cooling operations before specialists could enter the site to assess the damage and determine the cause of the explosion.
Authorities have not yet established whether the incident resulted from a technical malfunction, a deliberate attack or sabotage, al-Bashir said.
“The relevant specialized teams will conduct an on-site inspection after cooling operations are completed to determine the causes and circumstances precisely,” he said.
The explosion occurred at a pressure-reduction station at the entrance to the Tishreen power plant and damaged two gas lines supplying the facility, according to the Syrian Petroleum Company.
The disruption cut gas supplies and forced the Tishreen plant out of service. Deir Ali and Nasiriyah were also taken offline, reducing available generation capacity on the national electricity grid.
Al-Bashir said preliminary damage at Tishreen appeared to be concentrated on gas lines and some electricity substations or cables. The plant’s turbines and other main components have yet to be inspected.
A more detailed assessment will be carried out after cooling operations are completed, he said, after which authorities will determine the rehabilitation and maintenance work required.
Abdul Hamid Salat, director of the Energy Ministry’s Media Department, said technical teams would also inspect other generating stations affected by the interruption in gas supplies.
The inspections will assess damage to equipment and check the condition of turbines, generating units and other components. Plants will then be returned to service according to their technical readiness, he said.
Deir Ali restart underway
Al-Bashir said gas pressure would be increased gradually to allow the Deir Ali plant to restart.
The Energy Ministry later confirmed that teams had begun repressurizing the section of the Arab Gas Pipeline between Adra and Deir Ali as part of the phased restoration process.
Cause of explosion under investigation
Al-Bashir cautioned against drawing conclusions about the cause of the Tishreen explosion before the technical inspection is completed.
He distinguished the incident from an explosion two days earlier on a gas pipeline in the al-Shoula area of Deir Ezzor countryside.
In that case, al-Bashir said explosives were used in an act of sabotage targeting a valve on the pipeline. He said no such determination had yet been made in the Tishreen incident.
Electricity gradually returning to Deir Ezzor
Electricity supplies, meanwhile, began returning gradually to Deir Ezzor province after the loss of generating capacity caused by the Tishreen pipeline explosion.
The Syrian Electricity Company in Deir Ezzor said electricity was being restored to areas of the province in stages based on available power supplies.
Electricity allocations to the province will remain temporarily reduced until the generation system stabilizes and affected plants return to service, the company said in a Facebook post.
The Syrian Electricity Company had earlier said the Deir Ali, Nasiriyah and Tishreen plants went offline after the explosion disrupted the gas supplies needed to operate them.
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