Lebanon’s power supplies have returned to normal after a blackout on Saturday when the country’s two biggest power stations shut down because of a fuel shortage, the energy ministry said.
Key points:
- The energy ministry says it received central bank credit to buy fuel for electricity generation
- Lebanon’s Zahrani and Deir Ammar plants shut down on Saturday plunging the country into a blackout
- The Lebanese military agreed to provide 6,000 kilolitres of gas oil to restart the plants
On Saturday, Lebanon’s two largest power stations, Zahrani and Deir Ammar plants, shut down due to fuel shortages, bringing the Lebanese power network to a complete halt.
The closure piled further hardship on Lebanese citizens already struggling with job losses, soaring prices and hunger wrought by the country’s worsening financial meltdown.
Lebanon’s energy ministry said it had secured central bank approval for $136 million in credit to issue fuel import tenders for electricity generation, adding the country’s grid had resumed supplying the same amount of electricity as before the complete outage.
A statement from the state electricity company — reported by the official National News Agency — said the Lebanese army had agreed on Saturday evening to provide 6,000 kilolitres of gas oil, distributed equally between the two power stations.
Many Lebanese normally rely on private generators that run on diesel, although that is in short supply.
Lebanon has been paralysed by an economic crisis that has deepened as supplies of imported fuel have dried up.
Since 2019, the Lebanese currency has fallen by 90 per cent.
Reuters
