State power provider Électricité du Liban. (Credit: NNA)
BEIRUT — As of midday Saturday "the last operational unit at the Zahrani power plant was forced to shut down completely, due to the complete depletion of the plant's fuel oil reserves, resulting in a total power outage across all Lebanese territories," the state power provider Electricité du Liban (EDL) announced in a statement.
The shutdown affects "essential facilities such as the airport, port, water pumps, sewage systems and prisons," the statement said.
EDL said that it "will reactivate the units that were forced offline, in line with the reserves available, once fuel oil is secured, and subsequently, power and electricity supply will be gradually restored to their previous levels."
EDL "will keep all citizens informed of any developments regarding electricity supply through subsequent statements on this matter," the statement concluded.
Contacted by our publication, the caretaker Energy Minister Walid Fayad indicated a timeline of 24-48 hours for the restoration of power. Fayad stated that a procedure is being finalized to transfer, in the next 24 to 48 hours, fuel compatible with EDL's power stations that is stored in Lebanese oil installations.
According to the caretaker minister, this will in principle enable EDL to operate 200 megawatts of production units to enable EDL to hold out until the next delivery of fuel, which should take place on Aug. 25.
The South Lebanon Water Establishment meanwhile said in a statement Saturday that the EDL outage has had a "significant impact on its ability to pump adequate water supplies" following the shutdown of the last functioning production unit at the Zahrani power plant.
In response, the South Lebanon Water Establishment is “urging citizens to conserve water as much as possible due to the expected reduction in water supply. Although the institution will activate its generators to mitigate the effects of the power outage, these measures are not enough to fully compensate for the reduced water production. As a result, the establishment may not be able to adequately serve all cities and towns within its coverage area.”
“Citizens are advised to take immediate precautions and limit water usage until further notice,” the statement concluded.
On Wednesday, following a cabinet meeting chaired by caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, the cabinet announced that an agreement had been reached to "purchase some of the necessary fuel" to prevent Electricité du Liban (EDL) from shutting down all its power plants.
Payment in Lebanese lira and spot cargo
Also on Wednesday, Fayad (affiliated with the Free Patriotic Movement, whose ministers have been boycotting government meetings because Lebanon is presently without a president) told L'Orient Today that he had introduced three measures to the agenda — all of which had been approved.
The first approved measure allows EDL to use funds in Lebanese lira, collected from bills paid by administrations, public institutions and other offices, to begin settling the bill for 430,000 tons of fuel delivered by Iraq under the "swap" agreement initiated in the summer of 2021. This agreement allows the public electricity supplier to exchange a portion of crude oil provided by Iraq each month for fuel compatible with its power plants. According to the adopted decision, payment must be made via a transfer to the Iraqi central bank account registered at Banque du Liban (BDL). The total of 430,000 tons corresponds to one-third of what Iraq committed to deliver during the last annual renewal of the agreement, minus 70,000 tons absorbed by Ogero, the operator responsible for managing fixed telephony and internet services.
The second measure involves requesting the Finance Ministry , administrations, institutions and other offices, as well as EDL, to establish a simplified mechanism to implement the first measure "in the shortest possible time." The measure specifies that the advance of LL6,850 billion ($76 million at the rate of LL89,500 per dollar) already granted to administrations, institutions, and offices to cover their electricity bills from November 2022 to June is sufficient to cover the amounts that need to be paid for the fuel, pending settlement of bills beyond this period.
Finally, the Cabinet authorized the Energy Ministry to select a bidder for the tender launched on June 10, 2024, to purchase a cargo of 30,000 tons of fuel on the spot cargo market (i.e., a one-time shipment without a long-term contract or recurring schedule). "This shipment, expected around Aug. 20, will help minimize EDL's blackout period," the minister said. The public supplier indicated last week that it had enough fuel to last until Aug. 17, with the next shipment of Iraqi fuel expected towards the end of the month.
Fayad emphasized on Wednesday that delays in fuel deliveries are what would cause this new blackout episode for EDL, and are related to delays by BDL in executing payments promised to the Iraqis.
"BDL requires special authorizations for each payment, and a law needs to be adopted to resolve this issue once and for all," the minister concluded Wednesday, noting that the ball is now in Parliament's court.
EDL's power plants regularly run out of fuel, causing chronic electricity shortages in the country and forcing Lebanese citizens to rely on private generators.