A private generator in Badaro on Aug. 22, 2025. (Credit: Philippe Hage Boutros/L'Orient Today)
BEIRUT — After three consecutive months during which Lebanese saw their electricity bills go down, the price per kilowatt-hour (kWh) for private or neighborhood power generators is on the rise again for November.
At LL31,188, or nearly $0.35 per kWh, the increase is 3.8 percent in one month. The minister based his calculations on an exchange rate of LL89,700 to the dollar and an average price of LL1,452,250 ($16.2) for 20 liters of diesel, up 4.6 percent from October.
To calculate their bill, each household subscribed to a generator must multiply the set price by the number of kWh corresponding to its consumption, as recorded on an individual meter that the operator is supposed to have installed.
After applying the 10 percent surcharge authorized by the ministry for generator owners in mountainous regions (over 700 meters altitude) and/or rural areas, the maximum kWh price is LL34,306 ($0.38).
Fixed fees remain unchanged: the monthly flat rate stays at LL385,000 ($4.29) for a maximum intensity of five amperes (A) and 685,000 LL ($7.64) for 10 A. For more than 10 A, the ministry maintains an extra charge of LL300,000 ($3.34) for each additional 5 A increment.
For installations connected to a three-phase meter, such as elevators, a supplemental fee is calculated based on a reference capacity. For example, an elevator powered by three 15 A phases should only be billed LL985,000 ($10.98) by the generator owner, instead of LL2,785,000 ($31.05).
Private generators have become a workaround for Lebanon's chronic electricity production shortfall since the Civil War, and especially since the collapse of both the economy and the government's electricity sector and infrastructure. The government recently launched a campaign to try to regulate the operation of generators more strictly and control their prices.
