Minister of Information Paul Morcos telling reporters of the results of a Cabinet meeting on Aug. 13, 2025. (Credit: NNA)
BEIRUT — Cabinet announced that private generator owners in Lebanon who don't comply with current laws and tariffs and fail to install meters within 45 days could face legal action, following a meeting at the Grand Serail on Wednesday afternoon.
Pressure has increased on private generators amid the heatwave taking hold in Lebanon. Soaring temperatures have caused technical failures with the state-run Électricité du Liban (EDL), plunging much of the country into darkness on several occasions.
Information Minister Paul Morcos told reporters that Cabinet had held an extensive discussion — outside the official agenda — of the many complaints received against the thousands of generator operators running private, and technically illegal, electricity provision in Beirut and throughout Lebanon.
Morcos denounced the fact that the operators have so far refused to comply with minimum safety standards, such as installing filters to prevent the emission of pollutants, despite an official government policy on the matter.
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam called on the relevant ministers to take stricter measures against private generator owners, within the limits of their authority, in order to encourage them to comply with current laws and regulations, especially concerning the price per kWh as set each month by the Ministry of Energy, and the installation of meters in regions where this has not yet been done.
"The government is giving generator owners 45 days to comply with the laws, or their generators will be seized and legal proceedings will be initiated," Morcos announced.
Mohammad Salim Zaatari to head Rafic Hariri Hospital
Also during Wednesday's meeting, Cabinet appointed Mohammad Salim Zaatari as director general of Rafic Hariri Governmental Hospital in Beirut, and announced that further appointments at other government hospitals would be done gradually.
The recruitment of 500 officers and 1,000 agents for the Internal Security Forces (ISF) as well as 56 employees was also approved, and "stricter penalties in cases of assault against medical staff, doctors, nurses, or pharmacists" implemented.
Assaults against medical personnel working in Lebanon's beleaguered healthcare system are common, and have increased notably since the financial and economic crisis of 2019.
At the request of Justice Minister Adel Nassar, Cabinet did not approve a bill aimed at amending the powers of investigating judges in such a way that would allow them to accept arrest warrants and releases and submit them to an appeals process.
Waste and Starlink issues postponed, public sector pensions sent to Parliament
The issue of household waste management and wastewater treatment has been postponed to a meeting scheduled for Thursday at 3 p.m.
The Ministry of Environment's plan to address the Jdeideh landfill's imminent overflow was submitted to Cabinet on Wednesday. The landfill receives waste from northern Mount Lebanon and part of Beirut. The plan is also meant to include steps to be taken in other regions' landfills.
Regarding satellite internet, which is set to be introduced in Lebanon, Telecommunications Minister Charles Hajj, who presented Cabinet the results of his negotiations with Starlink, requested additional time to further his research.
Finance Minister Yassine Jaber told LBCI that the government has approved "a bill to open a line of credit in the 2025 budget to pay LL12 million per month to all public sector retirees," noting that the text has been sent to Parliament.
