State power provider Electricite du Liban. (Credit: NNA)
The Grand Serail on Friday sent an open formal letter to Electricite du Liban (EDL) and the Energy Ministry urging them to distribute electricity equitably following complaints from subscribers.
In its letter, the premiership stated, "In light of daily complaints from citizens regarding the disproportionate supply hours of electricity between different areas, the Prime Minister requests that you issue a statement clarifying how electricity from power plants is being distributed among all Lebanese regions."
The Prime Minister's office also asked "to provide the supply hours for each area, identify any existing distribution gaps, and work on addressing them promptly."
The letter further called on EDL to provide a schedule of electricity supply hours to public institutions such as the airport, port, water pumps, and sewage facilities, along with the amounts being supplied.
This open letter follows the cessation of government-provided electricity earlier this month, exacerbating its already struggling public electricity system, as most citizens rely primarily on private generators. Even the energy minister, Walid Fayad, admitted in an interview after the latest electricity crisis that he depends on a private generator.
On Aug. 17, EDL announced that the last operational unit at the Zahrani power plant had completely shut down due to the exhaustion of its fuel oil reserves, leading to a nationwide power outage in Lebanon. Fuel shipments arrived in Lebanon at the beginning of the week but have not yet been supplied to EDL for administrative reasons.