Électricité du Liban in Beirut, April 3 2021. (Anwar Amro/AFP, Archive)
BEIRUT — For the second time in two weeks, the public utility Electricité du Liban (EDL) was the target of attacks at its distribution center in the Aramoun region near Beirut. Significant damage was inflicted on its infrastructure.
Here’s what we know:
• The attack caused power cuts in Mount Lebanon areas of Aramoun, Bchamoun, Khaldeh and Choueifat.
• On January 8, all of Lebanon found itself plunged into darkness, following attacks committed by demonstrators at this same plant.
• In a press release published Monday, EDL said residents of Aramoun and Bchamoun were responsible for disconnecting a 150 kilovolt transformer and damaging 12 other medium voltage transformers. EDL said it had to call upon police to restore calm in order to carry out repairs.
• EDL said it managed to repair some damage, however they claimed that a large part of the sabotage could not be fixed, for "lack of spare parts" and that, consequently, "many of the inhabitants of these regions will remain deprived of power for the moment, while waiting to find solutions.”
• According to EDL’s own data, Lebanon’s electricity demands are 3,000 MW. For several months, however, it has only managed to distribute 400 to 700 MW, out of more than 1,500 MW in total. Lebanon is supposed to sign an electricity import contract with Syria and Jordan this Wednesday. Its terms would see Jordan supply Lebanon with "150 megawatts from midnight to six o'clock the next day and 250 megawatts the rest of the day"; quantities that are within the limits of the loads that the high voltage relays connecting the Syrian and Lebanese networks can support (less than 300 MW).
• The foundations of this contract was laid within the framework of an American initiative, unveiled in August 2021, according to which various parties concerned with the electricity deal will not be targeted by sanctions under the Caesar act, targeting any person or entity collaborating with Bashar al-Assad's government.