Power supply secured for vital facilities as national grid goes offline

The state-run Zahrani Oil Installations overnight started pumping five million liters of fuel oil on loan to the Zahrani power plant through the supply line that connects them, a day after Lebanon’s state utility Electricité du Liban announced that its power plants had exhausted their supply of fuel oil and would stop producing electricity.

In a statement, the Installations director general said the process started after “completing all the administrative, technical and legal files,” adding that EDL’s board of directors would meet Sunday and issue a statement announcing when the power plant would become functional.

The director general however noted that power supply will only benefit the state’s vital facilities and that the decision was taken after marathon negotiations.

Lebanon has struggled with severe electricity shortages for years, particularly since the country fell into a protracted financial crisis in 2019.

Homes and businesses rely largely on generators and, increasingly, solar panels for power as the state typically supplies electricity only a few hours a day.

The meager state electricity supply relies on fuel oil provided by Iraq, but issues have arisen between the two countries due to Lebanon not having paid for the supply.