Today's Edition
Shaaban Bilal (Beirut, Cairo)
Lebanese fears power cuts are increasing due to a shortage of fuel supplies as winter approaches, which increases the demand for energy, amidst continued political paralysis and economic deterioration. Deputies and political experts expect a decrease in electricity supply in the coming period due to fuel shortage and lack of financial allocations for imports, confirming that millions of Lebanese cannot afford to buy private generators or power supply devices.
Former Lebanese Deputy Mustafa Alloush said that Lebanese are currently living in a good situation after the increase in electricity supply hours, but this situation cannot be relied on due to the continued political paralysis and the unstable security situation.
Alloush explained to Aletihad that despite this, the harsh winter increases the severity of the situation, as the stations are in poor condition. He added that another concern is the uncertainty of securing the necessary financial allocations to continue fuel supply for the stations.
On his part, the Lebanese political analyst Bashir Asmat mentioned that the electricity crisis amid the approaching winter season is exacerbated by bad policies, corruption, and deliberate impoverishment by the authority.
He said that the Lebanese people stand alone, failed by their government that should have mandatorily resigned twice, firstly at the election of a new parliament, and secondly at the end of the president’s term.
Asmat told Aletihad that the Lebanese people are facing two scenarios to confront the electricity crisis, the first is to pay huge amounts exceeding their financial capabilities in exchange for operating thermal plants, and the second is to suffer from frost and be forced to cut trees and pay financial fines.
Asmat stressed that electricity prices and subscriptions have become exorbitant and exceed the capabilities of the Lebanese, whose wage value has been robbed by the collapse of the exchange rate, expecting a “dark scenario” to recur due to these difficult conditions.
The Lebanese government is trying to import the necessary fuel to maintain the electricity supplies, which do not exceed the maximum duration of 4 to 6 hours per day in rotation between different regions. The statement from Lebanese MP Najat Saliba discusses the chronic and worsening electricity crisis in Lebanon, especially during the winter when demand increases.
The main cause of this crisis is the lack of fuel availability. Saliba noted that the electricity crisis is due to the inability to provide financial allocations for fuel purchases, especially amid a shortage of dollars. She emphasised the need for transparency in fuel purchases by the responsible authorities.
Lebanese people are forced to rely on private electricity generators or specialised entities that provide home and commercial connections for a monthly subscription fee or based on consumption, which is more costly than government-supplied electricity. The state electricity provider only supplies power for about two to four hours per day on a rotational basis across all Lebanese regions.
