A cluster of generators on a Beirut street. (Credit: Reuters)
BEIRUT — The Energy Ministry published on Tuesday a generator electricity tariff for the first half of March, clarifying that this measure is “exceptional.” As a result, subscribers will be forced to pay two generator bills for March, not one as they usually do.
Here’s what we know:
• Abdo Saadeh, head of generator owners’ syndicate, said this measure should make it possible to address a liquidity problem that operators are facing because of the increase in prices of fuel oil consumed by their generators. Fuel prices have risen since late last month due to the sharp increase of world oil prices in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
• However, “we do not yet know if the new rates set are adapted to our real costs,” Saadeh told L'Orient Today. He added that he wanted the frequency of these tariff adjustments to remain bi-monthly, as long as oil prices on world markets remain volatile.
• Set at LL8,518, price per kilowatt hour (kWh) of power produced by private generators thus rose by 23.7 percent compared to the price at the end of February [LL6,888, down 9.26 percent compared to January]. The price is an additional 10 percent higher in areas 700 meters above sea level and in rural regions. This increase is the sharpest recorded since November 2021, when prices increased by 25 percent.
• The mid-March tariff was calculated based on the average price of diesel, estimated at LL431,667 per 20 liters, since fuel prices soared in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine. This new average price corresponds to an increase of 26.8 percent over the previous month — LL340,514 per 20 liters of diesel.
• The ministry also once again called on generator owners to comply with the decision of the Economy Ministry and install meters to measure subscribers’ energy consumption.