Human Rights Watch (HRW) has criticized the Tunisian government for its inadequate response to summer heatwaves, which led to widespread power outages and water shortages. These issues have been attributed by the Tunisian Economic Observatory (OTE) to a decline in public investment in electricity production. In July and August, power cuts disrupted water distribution and left hospitals without electricity, with some outages lasting up to four hours during peak air conditioning demand. HRW noted that July was the second hottest month since 1950, and the lack of electricity caused pumping stations to stop, leaving many regions without running water. The Tunisian Water Observatory recorded 361 unexpected interruptions in the supply of drinking water in August alone, with the Mahdia governorate reporting the most. A doctor from one of the largest hospitals in Tunis told HRW that insufficient generator capacity meant most services were without electricity during outages. Only intensive care and operating rooms had backup power, while emergency services were left without support. During a blackout, doctors in the neonatology department had to manually ventilate newborns. The electronic medical records system was also inaccessible, and patient admissions were blocked, including for life-threatening emergencies. The Tunisian Association of Young Doctors (OTJM) estimated that between 150 and 200 people had died from heatstroke or medical equipment failure in the days leading up to July 22. However, no independent investigation or official source has confirmed this figure. The Tunisian League for Human Rights (LTDH), cited by HRW, reported 20 prisoner deaths, with five occurring on August 28 alone at the Mornaguia prison near Tunis. The OTE argues that the outages cannot be attributed solely to the heatwave and questions the government's investment policy. According to an analysis published in August 2026, investments by the Tunisian Electricity and Gas Company (STEG) in electricity production have dropped by 87% between 2016-2020 and 2021-2025, decreasing from 1.947 billion to 248 million dinars. During the same period, electricity demand increased by 3.8% annually. The OTE also noted that nearly 870 megawatts of projects have been stalled since 2018 due to the lack of approval from the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy. These include the Skhira combined cycle power plant near Sfax and the Djebel Tebaga wind farm. HRW stated that STEG management had warned its supervising ministries as early as 2024 about the risk of insufficient capacity. On August 26, President Kais Saied called the outages « deliberate acts of sabotage planned » during a meeting with officials and company leaders, but no evidence has been publicly presented to support this claim. Since the end of July, prosecutors in several regions have opened investigations targeting STEG officials and employees. Meanwhile, the opposition has faced legal challenges. In Borj Erras, in the Mahdia governorate, a demonstration against a three-week water shortage led to the arrest of 12 people, including nine minors, who were later released. Seifeddine Arfaoui, an activist arrested after a demonstration in Tunis, was sentenced to eighteen months in prison under the Telecommunications Code for posting slogans from the protest on Facebook. HRW has urged the authorities to publish a death toll and to present a plan for restoring water and electricity supply.