EDZ infrastructure in the Bekaa. (Credit: EDZ)
BEIRUT — Residents of the Bekaa Valley who receive their power from Electricité de Zahlé protested Tuesday in front of an Electricité du Liban processing station in Zahle over electricity rationing by EDZ, our sister publication, L'Orient-Le Jour, reported.
What we know:
• EDZ provides power for about 300,000 people in Zahle and surrounding areas. When EDL power is available, EDZ acts as a distributor. When the state electricity is cut off, EDZ produces its own power using a diesel-based generation plant.
• Until recently, customers in EDZ’s coverage area had received 24/7 electricity without the need for a private generator subscription.
• While EDZ has been touted as a success story, its model relied on subsidized power from EDL and access to subsidized diesel for its own plant in order to be financially sustainable. With EDL power almost nonexistent and diesel having become increasingly costly and scarce, EDZ began rationing power earlier this month.
• Protesters Tuesday asserted that “electricity is a right of the inhabitants of the region who pay 100 percent of the bill to EDL via EDZ,” according to LCBI.