Lebanon Plunges into Complete Darkness as Gas Oil Runs out to Fuel Power Plants

An exterior view of the building of the Lebanese Electricity Company "Electricite du Liban", in Beirut, Lebanon, 17 August 2024.  (EPA)
An exterior view of the building of the Lebanese Electricity Company "Electricite du Liban", in Beirut, Lebanon, 17 August 2024. (EPA)
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Lebanon Plunges into Complete Darkness as Gas Oil Runs out to Fuel Power Plants

An exterior view of the building of the Lebanese Electricity Company "Electricite du Liban", in Beirut, Lebanon, 17 August 2024.  (EPA)
An exterior view of the building of the Lebanese Electricity Company "Electricite du Liban", in Beirut, Lebanon, 17 August 2024. (EPA)

Lebanon officially plunged into complete darkness on Saturday as it ran out of gas oil to run power plants.

The state electricity company, Electricite du Liban (EDL), declared that the Zahrani plant – the last operational station - had run out of fuel, leaving the country without power.

State institutions now have to rely on private generators to keep running.

EDL said power should be restored once the “concerned parties tackle the issue of supplying it with gas oil, whether in line with the agreement with Iraq or through another source.”

Caretaker Energy Minister Walid Fayyad tasked EDL and the Litani River Authority to dedicate their remaining services to ensuring that water supplies keep being provided.

Beirut Rafik Hariri Airport Director Fadi al-Hassan said the facility – Lebanon's sole airport – was running on power provided by generators, hoping the crisis would be resolve swiftly.

Lebanese Forces MP Razi al-Hajj slammed the renewed electricity crisis, saying that billions of dollars have been pumped into the sector to resolve it and the country is yet again in darkness.

In a post on the X platform, he said: “Forty billion have been spent on the sector since 2010. We have been waiting for 24/24 electricity for 40 years.”

He slammed officials for repeatedly resorting to temporary solutions without seeking ones that address the root causes of the crisis.

“The solution is simple: decentralizing the sector. Let the private sector handle production, distribution and tax collection. We have had enough,” he added.

Officials have traded blame over the crisis. The energy minister has blamed the Central Bank for failing to pay Iraq its dues. The bank, meanwhile, has called on parliament to grant it authorization to do so.

MP Sagih Atieh said EDL was the primary culprit for “failing to collect taxes. This is the direct reason for the crisis.” He noted that some institutions have also failed to pay their dues.

Three years ago, Lebanon and Iraq inked an agreement to provide Lebanon with fuel for power generation.

Acting Central Bank Governor Wassim Mansouri has been refusing to transfer funds to pay Lebanon’s part of the deal from the emergency foreign currency reserves, saying such a move requires parliament’s authorization.

EDL doesn’t have the necessary funds to pay Iraq itself.

Economic and financial experts unanimously agree that nearly half of Lebanon’s public debt – a staggering 100 billion dollars – is a result of the electricity sector and efforts to address the chronic power shortages.



UN Seeks $6 Billion to Ease Hunger Catastrophe in Sudan

Displaced Sudanese, who fled the Zamzam camp, gather near the town of Tawila in North Darfur on February 14, 2025. (AFP)
Displaced Sudanese, who fled the Zamzam camp, gather near the town of Tawila in North Darfur on February 14, 2025. (AFP)
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UN Seeks $6 Billion to Ease Hunger Catastrophe in Sudan

Displaced Sudanese, who fled the Zamzam camp, gather near the town of Tawila in North Darfur on February 14, 2025. (AFP)
Displaced Sudanese, who fled the Zamzam camp, gather near the town of Tawila in North Darfur on February 14, 2025. (AFP)

UN officials on Monday asked for $6 billion for Sudan this year from donors to help ease what they called the world's worst ever hunger catastrophe and the mass displacement of people brought on by civil war.

The UN appeal represents a rise of more than 40% from last year's for Sudan at a time when aid budgets around the world are under strain, partly due to a pause in funding announced by US President Donald Trump last month that has affected life-saving programs across the globe.

The UN says the funds are necessary because the impact of the 22-month war between Sudan's army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) - that has already displaced a fifth of its population and stoked severe hunger among around half its population - looks set to worsen.

World Food Program chief Cindy McCain, speaking via video to a room full of diplomats in Geneva, said: "Sudan is now the epicenter of the world's largest and most severe hunger crisis ever."

She did not provide figures, but Sudan's total population currently stands at about 48 million people. Among previous world famines, the Bengal Famine of 1943 claimed between 2 million and 3 million lives, according to several estimates, while millions are believed to have died in the Great Chinese Famine of 1959-61.

Famine conditions have been reported in at least five locations in Sudan, including displacement camps in Darfur, a UN statement said, and this was set to worsen with continued fighting and the collapse of basic services.

"This is a humanitarian crisis that is truly unprecedented in its scale and its gravity and it demands a response unprecedented in scale and intent," UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher said.

One of the famine-stricken camps was attacked by the RSF last week as the group tries to tighten its grip on its Darfur stronghold.

While some aid agencies say they have received waivers from Washington to provide aid in Sudan, uncertainty remains on the extent of coverage for providing famine relief.

The UN plan aims to reach nearly 21 million people within the country, making it the most ambitious humanitarian response so far for 2025, and requires $4.2 billion - the rest being for those displaced by the conflict.