Key Facts
—What. Storm Charles damaged four high-voltage lines, cutting power in Casablanca on Wednesday 11 November 2026.
—How long. ONEE, Morocco’s national electricity and water office, logs the outage from 16:55 to 20:54 local time.
—Official claim. Government spokesperson Samir Belfkih called the three-hour recovery a record; ONEE’s own times add up to about four.
—Not known. No count of affected customers has been published, and the cable count differs between ONEE and the government.
—As of 13 November 2026, 08:45 GMT.
A storm cut electricity to large parts of Casablanca for about four hours on Wednesday evening, according to the national grid operator. The government has called the recovery a record.
What Happened in Casablanca
Power failed across large parts of Casablanca, Morocco’s economic capital, at 16:55 local time on Wednesday 11 November 2026, according to ONEE, the national electricity and water office. The office says all affected substations, the sites that step high voltage down for local networks, were back in service at 20:54.
ONEE lists the city centre, Maârif, El Fida, Aïn Chock, Ben M’sick, Sbata, Sidi Othmane and Hay Hassani among the districts hit. It also names the suburbs of Bouskoura, Ouled Azzouz and Dar Bouazza.
SRM Casablanca-Settat, the regional power distributor, had dated the start of the fault at 16:48, seven minutes earlier. We found no published count of the homes and businesses affected.
What Caused the Outage
ONEE says wind gusts and thunderstorms from Storm Charles damaged four separate 225-kilovolt lines at once. Those very-high-voltage lines supply the Ouled Haddou and Dar Bouazza substations.
The main supply and its backup routes went down at the same time, which ONEE calls an exceptional incident. We did not find official wind-speed data for that evening, so we report none.
The Government’s Record Claim
Samir Belfkih, Morocco’s government spokesperson, told his weekly press conference in Rabat on Thursday 12 November that power came back “in record time”. He called it an exceptional case and said restoring electricity in three hours in a city of Casablanca’s size took considerable effort (our translation).
Belfkih added that in neighbouring countries power had been cut for 10, 12 or even 15 hours, a point he made with pride. The remark names no country.
ONEE’s own times, 16:55 to 20:54, add up to about four hours, not three. The government has not said how it counted the three hours.
Why It Matters for Morocco and US Readers
Four 225-kilovolt lines failing together shows that one storm can remove a main route and its backups at once. ONEE has not said whether the incident changes its 2026–2030 equipment plan, which its board adopted on 27 July 2026 at more than 248 billion dirhams (about US$25 billion at 9.86 dirhams per dollar, 13 November rate).
Morocco has had a free-trade agreement with the United States since 2006, and Casablanca is its main business hub. The outage lasted one evening, and we found no report of lasting damage.
No official statistic on the economic cost of the outage had been published when we wrote this, so we give no cost figure. Our report on power cuts in Benin covers a grid problem elsewhere in Africa.
In Plain English
A kilovolt is 1,000 volts, so a 225-kilovolt line is a very-high-voltage line built to move large amounts of power over long distances. A substation is where that power is stepped down before it reaches streets and buildings.
ONEE runs the national high-voltage network, while regional companies such as SRM Casablanca-Settat deliver electricity to homes and shops. Storm Charles is the name used for the weather system that hit the Casablanca region on Wednesday.
What It Means for You and What to Watch
Visitors and residents in Casablanca faced a blackout that ONEE puts at about four hours on Wednesday evening. Our Casablanca guide for November lists what is on in the city, and our Morocco coverage follows any new detail.
Two things are worth watching: whether ONEE publishes a technical report that settles the number of lines and the exact duration, and whether the government explains how it counted three hours. Neither has a published date.
What Is Not Known
No source has published how many customers lost power, and ONEE has not detailed the effect on transport, telecoms, shops or hospitals, which media reports describe only in general terms. The government spokesperson spoke of three cables falling together while ONEE reports four lines.
The gap between three hours and about four hours is also unexplained. We will update this article if ONEE or the government publishes more detail.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long was the Casablanca blackout?
ONEE says power was out from 16:55 to 20:54 on Wednesday 11 November 2026, about four hours. The government spokesperson put it at three hours.
What caused the Casablanca power cut?
ONEE says wind and thunderstorms from Storm Charles damaged four 225-kilovolt lines feeding the Ouled Haddou and Dar Bouazza substations. The government spokesperson spoke of three cables, so the exact count is not settled.
Which areas lost power in Casablanca?
ONEE names the city centre, Maârif, El Fida, Aïn Chock, Ben M’sick, Sbata, Sidi Othmane and Hay Hassani, plus Bouskoura, Ouled Azzouz and Dar Bouazza. No customer total has been published.
Is power back everywhere in Casablanca?
ONEE says all affected substations were back in service at 20:54 on 11 November. ONEE has not published a district-by-district log, so some areas may have regained power at other times.
Sources: ONEE statement on the Casablanca incident, 12 November 2026; Moroccan government spokesperson’s weekly press conference, Rabat, 12 November 2026; SRM Casablanca-Settat incident notice, 11 November 2026; ONEE board decision on the 2026–2030 equipment plan, 27 July 2026; dirham exchange rate of 13 November 2026 (9.86 per US dollar).
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