Lebanon has practically entered the phase of "BLACK OUT," which sources describe as a first preview of the severe darkness that the Lebanese will experience in the upcoming period, due to a complete power outage. The Zahrani power plant has ceased operations entirely after the operating company announced the suspension of its activities due to non-receipt of its dues in US dollars. This has resulted in a total and comprehensive electricity shutdown across all Lebanese territories, until the company was able to restore it following confirmation of the transfer of the owed funds by the Central Bank of Lebanon.
The financial allocation of $60 million, which the government approved on April 14, was disbursed yesterday from special drawing rights managed by the Ministry of Finance, requiring neither a borrowing contract nor advance decrees. The sources indicated that leaving matters until the last moment suggests a "serious intention to plunge the country into total darkness," adding that they "don’t want to bring electricity."
They noted that what happened was expected after a period of postponing decisions related not only to the Zahrani and Deir Ammar plants but also to the company operating the Jiyyeh and Zouk plants, which have been idle for six months due to the unavailability of fuel, as well as the need to pay maintenance and spare parts expenses. It is considered clear that there is no official direction to make serious and responsible decisions to halt the collapse of the electricity sector.
The sources concluded: "Today we paid $60 million to solve the problem, but what awaits us in a month or two?" The solution is not just linked to the delayed payment but also involves the fuel issue after the expiration of the Iraqi contract, the Egyptian gas topic, the depletion of hard currency, and the collapse of the financial situation. Thus, we will likely find ourselves in the same crisis, and potentially worse, shortly thereafter.
