Lebanon: partial return of electricity after a total breakdown

The army has supplied diesel to the two main centers of the country to restore the current a few hours a day.

Le Monde with AFP

The electricity grid in Lebanon has been partially delivered on Sunday, October 10 after a total breakdown, the electricity generation that has been made possible through diesel assistance provided by the army, announced the Ministry of Lebanese energy. “The army handed (…) 6,000 kiloliters of diesel, divided equally between the central of Deir Ammar and Zahrani”, which makes it possible to produce current for a few hours each day, said the department.

The Minister of Energy has also announced that he had received the Central Bank of Lebanon agreement for $ 100 million for oil supply.

Straightened in an unprecedented crisis, qualified by the World Bank of one of the worst in the history of the world since 1850, Lebanon has been experiencing Draconian current rationments, rising more than twenty-two hours by day, and difficult to import fuel, while the national currency undergoes a historical tumble and that foreign currencies are less and less available.

Private generators also rationed

Saturday, the country dived for the second time since October in a total black-out after stopping the activity of two important power plants for lack of fuel, according to the National Electricity of Lebanon ( EDL).

The cuts have been paralyzing the life of the population and several vital sectors, while the managers of private generators, who often take over, also rations businesses, hospitals and homes, as the fuel is scarce.

The country, whose ruling class is accused of corruption and incompetence, has been suffering from decades of endemic electrical sub-production. The mismanagement of EDL cost the Treasury several billion dollars since the end of the civil war (which lasted from 1975 to 1990). The international community calls for urgent reforms to the Lebanese authorities, especially for EDL, symbol of the poor governance and the deliquidity of public services in Lebanon.

/Media reports.