Some residents of Toura in Sour, South Lebanon, stormed the district's thermal electricity plant, entering the electrical room, to protest the poor electricity supply. (Credit: NNA)
BEIRUT — Some residents of Toura town in Sour, South Lebanon, stormed the district's thermal electricity plant and entered its electrical room, saying their actions were aimed at protesting the poor electricity supply to the town compared to that of other towns in the region, the state-run National News Agency reported.
Public infrastructure has deteriorated considerably in Lebanon since the onset in 2019 of the ongoing financial crisis is the country, and the state power provided Electricité du Liban (EDL) provides less than a handful of hours of electricity per day.
Caretaker Energy Minister Walid Fayad has announced that EDL could double its power production by mid-February if the government commits to “eliminate any [power] waste" by tracking down illegal connections to EDL's cables.
Fayad added that, after EDL director Kamal Hayek obtains guarantees of the government’s support, the state power provider can pursue efforts to reach 500 megawatts (MW) of power output — in line with the second phase of a multistep plan that aims to ultimately produce 1500 MW, or half Lebanon’s pre-crisis demand.
In January, the government approved more than $100 million in Treasury advances to finance state electricity production after a fuel shortage forced shutdowns of Lebanon’s two largest power plants. Last month, Fayad said an increase to longstanding EDL tariffs, expected to come into effect by the end of February, could not be implemented without first increasing EDL’s production.
However, the new electricity tariffs are among the necessary reforms stipulated by the World Bank to allow for Lebanon to receive Jordanian electricity and Egyptian natural gas via Syria.