The Minister of Energy in the caretaker government, Walid Fayyad, denied reports about wasting Iraqi fuel used for the operation of power plants.
His comments came in response to a statement by the Progressive Socialist Party (PSP), which said that only “half of the quantity” of fuel sent by Iraq reached the electricity plants.
In comments published in Asharq Al-Awsat Friday, Fayyad stressed that the quantities that leave Iraq and reach Lebanon are “accurately documented in tables and figures obtained by Iraq as well.”
“It is true that the quantity that reaches the plants is half or less than the amounts coming out of Iraq, but that’s not because of waste, but rather because of the difference between the type of Iraqi fuel and the oil required by power plants in Lebanon, based on certain European conditions,” the minister said, adding that the remaining amounts were being exchanged through tenders, taking into consideration the value difference.
Fayyad hoped power supply in Lebanon would reach more than 12 hours a day, as of the mid-summer, noting that this hinged on two conditions.
First, the minister said that the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank should convert the collected funds into US dollars, before they lose their value, and second, the operation of the Zouk and Jiyyeh power plants, which was suspended following disputes between the Lebanese state and the operator, should be resumed.
