Electricity poles at the exit of the Jamhour relay station, in the Baabda district, on Aug. 22, 2024. (Credit: P.H.B./L'Orient Today)
MTV's lawyer, Marc Habka, filed a request for inquiry Thursday against Middle East Power (MEP), a Lebanese company operating the Zouk and Jiyeh power plants. He accuses the firm, led by the son of al-Jadeed’s owner of contributing to Lebanon’s ongoing power blackout, which began on Aug. 17.
MEP, which describes itself as specializing in “electromechanical projects and energy management services,” was unavailable for comment. L’Orient-Le Jour also could not reach the company’s president, Karim Khayat, son of Tahsine Khayat, the owner of al-Jadeed, a rival of MTV.
Habka’s request, filed with the Court of Cassation, is part of MTV's broader effort to expose corruption in Lebanon amid the absence of effective state institutions. Speaking at the Palace of Justice, Habka said the channel has been investigating electricity shortages for two years — a probe that gained renewed urgency following accusations made on social media by former Energy and Water Minister Nada Boustany.
“We’re talking about the waste of millions of dollars,” Habka said.
On Wednesday, Boustany indirectly defended current caretaker Energy and Water Minister Walid Fayad, who has faced criticism over the near-total blackout at the state-run Electricité du Liban (EDL) since mid-August. She accused MEP of failing to perform its duties, leading to the massive power outage that plunged the country into darkness.
'27,000 tons of fuel'
Boustany went further in her accusations, claiming on social media platform X that MEP could have used “19,000 tons of fuel stored at the Zouk plant and 8,000 liters of fuel at the Jiyeh plant, a total of 27,000 tons stored since 2022” to prevent the blackout, which was initially triggered by the depletion of fuel at Lebanon’s power stations.
The former minister also accused MEP of pocketing $38 million for maintenance work that was allegedly never carried out. She asserted that the plants in question were “the best in Lebanon and were established by Gebran Bassil,” the current leader of the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) and a close associate of Boustany, who served as Energy and Water Minister from 2009 to 2014 and made electricity a cornerstone of his tenure.
The Zouk power plant, located north of Beirut, was built in the 1940s, while the Jiyeh plant, south of the capital, was commissioned in 1970.
Boustany also criticized al-Jadeed on X, accusing the channel of attempting to justify MEP’s actions. Responding to these allegations, Mariam Bassam, head of news programming at al-Jadeed, accused Boustany of having “covered up” the waste of millions of dollars in the electricity sector during her time as minister and earlier as an advisor at the Energy and Water Ministry.
EDL’s financial struggles, which have long hampered its production and supply, worsened with the onset of the economic crisis in 2019. While various measures taken over the past three years had somewhat improved the situation, the public provider has been grappling with a near-blackout since late July.
On Friday, EDL finally began unloading the first of three fuel shipments — that were originally expected by the end of September — to boost its power generation.
