The owners of private generators said they would be forced to turn off their generators if solutions to the rising cost of fuel are not found, returning Lebanon to the darkness it experienced during the fuel scarcity of summer 2021. (Credit: João Sousa/L’Orient Today)
BEIRUT — Private generator owners in Lebanon warned Thursday that the country is heading towards “darkness within a day or two," claiming that they could no longer meet the constantly rising cost of diesel fuel.
Here’s what we know:
• In a statement, the private generator owners association complained about "a crazy rise in the exchange rate of the dollar against the Lebanese pound as well as the unprecedented rise in the price of fuel oil.”
• "If quick solutions are not found within a day or two at most,” the statement continued, “we are inevitably heading for darkness."
• Private generator owners purchase diesel fuel in US dollars, while the fees paid by their subscribers are, for the most part, paid in Lebanese lira. Private generator bills for Lebanese citizens are constantly on the rise due to the continued depreciation of the lira against the US dollar on the parallel market. Since the start of 2022, the national currency has already broken several depreciation records, approaching LL34,000 against the dollar on the parallel market on Tuesday, while its official rate remains fixed at LL1507.5.
• Since the summer of 2021, generator owners have rationed electricity for hours each day in order to save on diesel, to let their machines rest and reduce bills for their subscribers. In Lebanon, according to the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia, at least 74 percent of the population lives below the poverty line.