After Plunging Into Darkness; Causes and Repercussions Behind the Collapse of the Electricity Network of Lebanon

On the afternoon of Saturday, October 9, 2021, darkness descended on Lebanon completely, after two major power plants were shut down due to the lack of fuel, in the second collapse of the electrical network within a week, according to Lebanon's electricity company (EDL).

The Lebanese Ministry of Energy said at that time: “it was doing everything in its power to solve the problem,” Lebanese officials said it was unlikely to restart for several days.

Lebanese believe that most of the country's residents did not notice any significant change in their daily lives on Saturday, they point out that the state has barely provided 2 to 4 hours of electricity per day for nearly several months.

While Lebanese politicians asserted that “the recent parades carried out by the Hezbollah militia were nothing more than a public relations campaign, its aim is to promote and justify the Iranian role in Lebanon, and to prepare the ground for the Iranian Foreign Minister's visit to Beirut.”

 

The hardest Files

On the evening of Sunday, October 10, 2021, the electricity network in Lebanon has been partially restored, after the (EDL) received quantities of gas oil from the Lebanese army, and what allows the operation of Deir Ammar and Zahrani stations, provides electricity for a few hours per a day, according to what was announced by the Lebanese Energy Minister, Walid Fayyad.

In turn, the Ministry of Energy said: “The Central Bank (BDL) has granted it a credit of $100 million to issue tenders to import fuel for electricity generation.”

The prolonged power outages are causing more suffering for the Lebanese who are grappling with job losses, rising prices and food shortages as a result of the country's worsening financial collapse.

The reform of the electricity sector is one of the most difficult issues facing the new Lebanese government headed by billionaire Najib Mikati, which was formed after political wrangling that lasted about a year.

The Lebanese government is currently negotiating on electricity supplies from Jordan and natural gas from Egypt, through Syria; But those deals are likely to take months.

The Hezbollah militia also facilitated multiple shipments of fuel from its supporter (Iran) on a separate initiative, it sought to circumvent US sanctions on Tehran by transporting fuel to Lebanon from the Syrian port of Banias.

Press reports revealed that “Lebanon receives 83,000 tons of Iraqi fuel per month from Iraq to generate electricity in exchange for providing medical services, based on an agreement between Beirut and Baghdad.”

However, Lebanese analysts believe that “the necessary solution to the electricity crisis in Lebanon is for the Lebanese state to reform the electricity sector, which has witnessed corruption over the past years, it is not required to rely on Iraqi fuel, Egyptian gas, or Jordanian electricity.”

As the operating expenses of electricity in Lebanon have become a burden on the (BDL) and a debt on the government due to corruption, leakage and mismanagement, while the company is unable to collect its financial rights due to thefts in several areas, some security boxes prevent the company's collectors from entering them.

It is noteworthy that “the (EDL) has annual losses of up to $2 billion, it has cost the state more than $54 billion over the past decades.”

 

Dimensions of the Crisis

From his point of view, the writer and political analyst “Mahmoud Alloush” sees in a statement to Al-Estiklal that: “The electricity crisis in Lebanon is not new, but the severe economic decline has exacerbated it.”

“There are two dimensions to the current crisis, the first is related to a chronic structural problem facing the electricity sector in Lebanon, as the state did not adopt sustainable solutions to rebuild it after the war, the second is the struggle between the political parties for hegemony,” Alloush explained.

“For years, the Lebanese have become accustomed to the electricity crisis and have adapted to it, by turning to the parallel electricity sector, which is managed by the private sector; But the crisis also affected it, which led to a significant increase in subscription prices, which sharply drains the purchasing power of the Lebanese,” the political analyst indicated.

“The Mikati government is currently unable to do anything to address this problem due to the financial crisis, it is counting on the Egyptian gas pipeline project, which is unlikely to arrive before the end of the year, the most it can do until then is to ensure that the fuel is not cut off from the market,” the Lebanese writer pointed out.

In the same context, Mahmoud Alloush said: “One of the conditions of the World Bank in return for providing support is the reform of the electricity sector, which accounts for the largest share of the public deficit and debt, as the political parties have no option to delay the reform of this sector if they want support.”

 

Iranian Guardianship

In the first international reaction to the electricity crisis in Lebanon, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdullahian announced, at the conclusion of his visit to Lebanon, Iranian offers for economic cooperation in the field of energy.

Abdullahian announced his country's support for Lebanon in the difficult economic conditions it is going through, and its readiness to build two power stations in Beirut and southern Lebanon, provided there is a will of the Lebanese government and political parties.

The Iranian minister's visit is the first after the formation of the government, it also came days after Hezbollah militia introduced Iranian oil tankers into Lebanese territory.

Prime Minister Najib Mikati welcomed any Arab and international effort to help Lebanon preserve its constitutional institutions, while Lebanese political forces have expressed their rejection of the visit, which was placed within the framework of the Iranian guardianship of Lebanon.

On his part, the Lebanese analyst, Mahmoud Alloush, in a statement to Al-Estiklal, stressed that: “Iran is investing in the current crisis to strengthen its influence in Lebanon, not only at the political and security level, but also at the economic level.”

“However, the proposed Iranian support cannot be a sustainable solution, without real and comprehensive reform at the level of the electricity sector and at the political and economic levels, the country will continue to spin in a vicious circle,” Alloush added.

It is noteworthy that in the middle of last month, trucks loaded with Iranian fuel arrived in Lebanon through Hezbollah militia and the Syrian regime.

Amid criticism of the move, which its opponents believe will only lead to more Tehran's domination of the country and will make the country mired in crises vulnerable to international sanctions.

 

Full Darkness

Blackouts were common during the 15-year Lebanese civil war from 1975 to 1990.

Recently, Lebanon has been paralyzed by an economic crisis that has led to a 90% drop in the Lebanese currency since 2019.

For months, it has been facing difficulties in providing the necessary quantities of fuel to operate electricity production plants.

However, most of the Lebanese usually depend on private generators that run on diesel, which has become difficult to find.

As generators have also become expensive, and many can no longer afford them, and the price of a diesel tank exceeded 200 thousand Lebanese pounds, after it was only 15 thousand Lebanese pounds.

As the country's crisis worsens, people are getting less electricity that the state produces, and they have to rely more on their service providers from the private sector.

With the limited supply of fuel, private electricity subscription prices have soared, making them out of reach for many after nearly three-quarters of the population has fallen into poverty.

One family is now expected to pay between $200 and $300 per month to get about 12 hours of electricity through the private sector per day.

It is noteworthy that Hezbollah was smuggling subsidized diesel on a daily basis from Lebanon to Syria, through illegal crossings linking the two countries, this made it collect huge sums of money at the expense of the Lebanese and Syrians over the past years.

According to Lebanese media, more than 2 million liters are smuggled by Hezbollah to Syria daily, out of a total of 5 million liters that the Lebanese market needs daily, what led to the scarcity of these materials on Lebanese territory, depriving citizens of this basic resource, especially since most villages and mountains use it to run private generators.

Lebanon has been suffering for nearly two years from a worsening economic crisis and a severe fuel shortage, that crisis left half of Lebanon's population in poverty, paralyzed its currency, and sparked large demonstrations against politicians.