The headquarters of EDL in Beirut. The damage caused by the double explosion on August 4, 2020, has still not been repaired. (Credit: João Sousa/L'Orient Today)
BEIRUT — Electricité du Liban (EDL) sent reminders to public administrations and institutions that have not yet settled their electricity bills, according to a letter seen by L’Orient Today.
The letter, dated Oct. 9 and addressed to the Ministry of Finance, emphasized that the bills of the concerned administrations and institutions should be paid in "fresh" Lebanese lira, meaning the bill should be paid in cash rather than bank transfer.
The state electricity supplier also stated that it will disconnect electricity to public administrations and institutions that have not settled their debts by Oct. 24, as previously announced in a September statement.
EDL's financial problems have been further exacerbated by Lebanon's ongoing economic crisis. In late 2022, authorities decided to increase the electricity tariffs that were unchanged since 1994.
EDL was then called upon by the caretaker government to improve bill collection. In return, EDL requested advances from the government's treasury to boost electricity production until it could collect enough money to finance its fuel purchases for a certain period.
Asking administrations and public institutions to settle their debts, as well as continued payment of their bills, are among the preferred strategies proposed by EDL to boost capacity.