Generator owners in Tripoli demand diesel

BEIRUT — Generator owners held a sit-in Monday in front of oil installations in Beddawi, north of Tripoli, to demand that they be supplied with diesel necessary to keep their generators running, the NNA reported.

What we know:

    • Claiming that the facilities in Beddawi still hold fuel stocks, the generator owners demanded that this diesel be distributed.

    • Monthslong state electricity shortages have left households and businesses across the country dependent on diesel-burning generators for power. Worsening fuel shortages over recent weeks have led to significant rationing of fuel by generator owners across the country, leading to ever longer blackouts.

    • Fuel importers blame the shortages on the central bank, saying that its slow processing of payments for subsidized fuel imports have hampered their ability to maintain a steady supply to the market. The state, however, contends that fuel hoarding and smuggling play a significant role in disrupting the supply chain.

    • In recent days, several sectors — including private hospitals and the food and beverage sector — have warned of the potentially disastrous impact of these shortages on the continuation of their activities.