Beirut, October 9 (BNA) The State Electricity Company said, on Saturday, that two major power plants in Lebanon were forced to shut down after running out of fuel, leaving the small country without government-produced electricity.
Lebanon suffers from a stifling energy crisis exacerbated by its dependence on fuel imports. The erratic power supply has put hospitals and essential services in crisis mode.
The Lebanese are increasingly dependent on private operators who are also struggling to secure supplies amid an unprecedented collapse of the national currency.
Diesel and fuel shortages, along with aging infrastructure, have exacerbated the blackouts that had been a staple for years.
Blackouts that used to last for three to six hours can now leave entire regions with no more than two hours of state power a day.
On Saturday, the state electricity company said that the Zahrani power plant in the south of the country was forced to shut down due to a lack of fuel. The main plant in the north was closed on Thursday.
EDL said the shutdown reduces the total power supply to less than 270 megawatts, which means a significant reduction in the stability of the grid.
It said it will contact fuel facilities in the north and south of the country to see if they can buy enough fuel to restore electricity.
But the company, which is responsible for most of the government’s debt, relies on credit from the country’s central bank, which is beset by dwindling reserves.
The government gradually raised fuel and diesel prices as the central bank cut its dollar support for imports, adding to the hardships faced by the Lebanese.
Distributors of gas bottles used for cooking and heating, Saturday, stopped working, saying that the subsidy cut amid currency fluctuations on the black market meant they were selling at a loss.
The energy sector has been a huge drain on the state treasury for decades.
The electricity company incurs annual losses of up to 1.5 billion dollars, and it has cost the state more than 40 billion dollars over the past decades.
Energy sector reforms have been a major demand of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.
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