Generator rates rise in July despite fuel tax suspension

The price per kilowatt-hour (kWh), produced and sold by private or neighborhood electricity generators, increased again in July, according to the rate schedule published Tuesday by the Energy and Water Ministry.

These rates do not appear to have been affected by this month's suspension by the Council of State of the tax on certain fuels, nor by the price of diesel, which followed its own path, having risen by nearly $100 per kiloliter just after these same taxes took effect at the end of May, according to the ministry's prices.

The price per kilowatt-hour has thus risen from 31,634 Lebanese lira (a little over $0.35 at the exchange rate used by the ministry, set at 89,700 pounds to the dollar) to 32,790 pounds (nearly $0.37), after already increasing by 3,845 pounds between May and June. It is still increased by 10 perecnt for operators in mountainous (over 700 meters altitude) and/or rural areas, bringing it to 36,069 pounds (a bit more than $0.40).

To calculate their bill, each subscriber must multiply the fixed price by the number of kWh corresponding to their consumption, as indicated on an individual meter that the operator is meant to have installed for them.

The average price of diesel used to set this rate is 1,542,785 pounds per 20 liters (+4.4 percent and more than 20 percent since May).

Fixed fees remain unchanged: 385,000 pounds ($4.29) in July for a maximum intensity of 5 amperes (A), and 685,000 pounds ($7.64) for an intensity of 10 A. The ministry also imposes a surcharge of 300,000 pounds ($3.34) for each additional 5 A increment above 10 A.

For installations connected to a three-phase meter (such as elevators), an additional fixed rate must always be calculated based on a reference capacity. Thus, for an elevator powered by three phases capable of supporting 15 A each, the generator owner should only charge 985,000 pounds ($10.98) and not 2,785,000 pounds ($31.05).

Private generators continue to be tolerated, as they have been for decades, due to the persistent shortcomings of Electricité du Liban (EDL).