Guinea-Bissau’s capital blacked out after government fails to pay electricity bill

City of Bissau, which has a population of more than 490,000, had no electricity for one and a half days

Power returned to Guinea-Bissau’s capital on Wednesday afternoon after the west African country’s government resumed payments to Turkish company Karpowership, which had plunged the city into darkness due to an unpaid debt of $17m.

Karpowership said it cut off electricity supplies to the city of Bissau – which has a population of more than 490,000 – for one and a half days when fuel suppliers paused work after a protracted period of non-payment.