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.



Arab League Urges UN Security Council to Stop Israeli Assault against Palestinian People

A man prepares meals to be distributed to displaced Palestinians in front of a leveled building in Gaza City on November 2, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
A man prepares meals to be distributed to displaced Palestinians in front of a leveled building in Gaza City on November 2, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
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Arab League Urges UN Security Council to Stop Israeli Assault against Palestinian People

A man prepares meals to be distributed to displaced Palestinians in front of a leveled building in Gaza City on November 2, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
A man prepares meals to be distributed to displaced Palestinians in front of a leveled building in Gaza City on November 2, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)

The Arab League urged on Saturday the UN Security Council and the international community to assume their responsibilities and exert pressure on Israel to stop its assaut against the Palestinian people and to ensure that it provides all humanitarian assistance needed by the people in Gaza Strip.

In a statement marking the 107th anniversary of the Balfour Declaration, the Arab League urged Britain and all the other countries that did not recognize the Palestinian state to take this step in support of peace in line with the two-state solution.

It emphasized that the only way to achieve just, comprehensive and lasting peace is to end the Israeli occupation of all Palestinian and Arab territories occupied since 1967, and to establish an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital according to international resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative.

"The Balfour Declaration continues to be a profound wound in the human conscience due to the Nakba that the Palestinian people have experienced and the ongoing deprivation of their legitimate and inalienable rights to freedom and independence. This refers to the Israeli occupation's violations and practices, settlement and Judaization, annexation and siege, the destruction of the Palestinian people's livelihoods, and the desecration of their religious shrines," the Arab League statement said.

It stressed that Israel's continued crimes and violations are a reflection of the international community's inability to fulfil its obligations and assume its responsibilities in resisting aggression and occupation, protecting the Palestinian people.

It must ask Israel to comply with the principles of international law and relevant resolutions in a manner that ends the occupation and allows the Palestinian people to exercise their right to self-determination in an independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital.

The Arab League stressed that Israel continues to insist on expanding the area of its hostilities to include Lebanon and the occupied Syrian Golan Heights despite the imminent danger of a regional war.

Moreover, the Israeli Knesset's decision to ban UNRWA's work in the occupied Palestinian territories is an additional flagrant violation of the UN Charter, of the international will, and of all human values.

The aim of this step is to destroy generations of Palestinians for whom the UN agency represents a lifeline in catastrophic humanitarian conditions. It is imperative that Israel stop these crimes and protect the agency's work in accordance with its UN mandate.