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.
