Electricite du Liban (EDL) building in the Mar Mikhael area in Beirut. (Credit: Archive photo/NNA)
Lebanon’s caretaker Energy and Water Minister, Walid Fayad, was questioned Wednesday afternoon at the Beirut Palace of Justice by the acting public prosecutor at the Court of Cassation, Jamal Hajjar, the National News Agency (NNA) reported. The inquiry is part of an investigation into a near-total blackout affecting Electricite du Liban (EDL) since last Saturday. EDL CEO Kamal Hayek was also interrogated earlier in the day. Details of the hearings have not been disclosed, and both officials did not answer our calls.
Since Saturday, Lebanese residents have depended almost entirely on private generators for electricity. On the same day, the state-owned supplier, EDL, announced it had shut down all thermal power plants after exhausting its fuel reserves and not receiving a scheduled shipment under a 2021 swap agreement with Iraq.
The investigation into the EDL blackout was launched on Monday at the request of caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, who asked the Central Inspectorate to probe the nationwide blackout that has been ongoing since the weekend. Notably, EDL had previously warned multiple times since early July about the potential for this scenario due to delays in the delivery of the last expected fuel shipment.
Electricity production facilities, already diminished since the end of the civil war, have been further strained by the public utility's financial troubles, which have deepened since the onset of the 2019 crisis.
On Sunday, Algeria pledged to provide fuel to Lebanon, and on Monday, Iraq denied "rumors" that it had stopped supplying fuel. The Iraqi government attributed the delay to "technical and logistical reasons."
U.S. Sanctions and Political Disputes
On Tuesday, Fayad explained that U.S. sanctions under the Caesar Act, alongside political disputes, have significantly impacted EDL’s operations. The minister noted that the threat of sanctions targeting anyone doing business with Bashar al-Assad’s government since 2020 was a major factor in the indefinite suspension of a project announced in 2022. This project aimed to import Egyptian gas and Jordanian electricity via Syria to temporarily boost EDL’s capacity while longer-term solutions were developed.
In the summer of 2021, the U.S. approved a plan to supply Lebanon with electricity from Jordan and facilitate gas imports from Egypt to northern Lebanon. Despite agreements with Egypt, Jordan and Syria, the project has yet to be implemented. EDL, which saw improved financial conditions after tariff increases at the end of 2022, currently relies on Iraqi fuel oil imports under a 2021 swap agreement.
According to previous statements made by Fayad, the blackout may persist until a new fuel oil shipment, approved by the Cabinet just a week ago, arrives.
The minister indicated that the Chem Helen, a tanker carrying 30,000 tons of Egyptian fuel oil purchased on the spot market, is expected to reach Lebanese waters on August 24 (Saturday) and unload at the Deir Ammar (North Lebanon) and Zahrani (South Lebanon) power plants within two days. Iraq — which has denied any intention to terminate the swap agreement — is expected to send a crude fuel tanker to be exchanged for refined fuel from a third party by month’s end. Finally, the Algerian press reported that the fuel promised by Algeria is being loaded as of Wednesday.