Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati met on Tuesday with Energy Minister Walid Fayad and World Bank Director for the Middle East Jean-Christophe Carré at the Grand Serail, Aug. 20, 2024. (Supplied by our correspondent Michel Hallak)
BEIRUT — Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati met on Tuesday with caretaker Energy Minister Walid Fayad and World Bank Director for the Middle East Jean-Christophe Carré at the Grand Serail to discuss renewable energy projects amid a nationwide blackout in Lebanon.
The Prime Minister's advisor and former Minister Nicolas Nahhas, also attended the meeting, which discussed the World Bank's $250 million program to finance projects related to renewable energy and support for Lebanon's electricity systems.
"We presented the latest documents that were prepared for this project, including the cash flow management mechanism and the cost recovery plan developed by Électricité du Liban (EDL) with the approval of Banque du Liban," Fayad added.
The minister explained that this plan aims to enable EDL to become self-reliant and independent from state support over time, through measures such as "tariff adjustments, legislation and financial reforms."
"Today, Prime Minister Mikati signed a letter of commitment by the Lebanese government to the sector policy development program, which is largely in line with the plan for the sustainable advancement of the electricity sector approved by the Cabinet in 2022," Fayad added.
The next step is for the World Bank program to be negotiated next week, before being presented by the Ministers of Finance and Energy, and then transferred to the World Bank's Board of Directors for approval, which is expected by late September. The program will then be discussed by the government and subsequently submitted to parliament for ratification.
"The path is long, but we hope to complete it this coming fall," Fayad said.
Since Saturday, the Lebanese have had to rely almost entirely on private generators for electricity. On that day, EDL announced that it had shut down all units of its thermal power plants after exhausting its fuel stocks, having not received the latest shipment expected under the swap agreement that has linked Lebanon to Iraq since 2021.
Since then, reactions and announcements have followed, contrasting with the silence that prevailed despite EDL’s warnings in early July of this risk.
Yesterday, Mikati requested that the Central Inspection Bureau investigate this forced shutdown. On Sunday, Algeria promised to supply Lebanon with fuel, and contacts are underway to ensure this promise is fulfilled, according to Fayad.
Additionally, on Monday, the Iraqi government denied "rumors that Iraq had stopped supplying fuel to Lebanon," attributing the delay in the latest delivery to "technical and logistical reasons."
