A statement was issued by the media office of the Minister of Energy and Water, Walid Fiad, stating the following: "In response to the rumors following the last Cabinet session regarding accusations directed at the Minister of Energy and Water about succumbing to political pressures, Minister of Energy and Water Dr. Walid Fiad wishes to confirm the following:
First: Since assuming the Ministry of Energy and Water, Minister Fiad has demonstrated his independence in ministerial work based on his conscience, national duty, and high national interest, and he does not succumb to any pressures or impositions from any party.
Second: The ministry had previously sent to the General Secretariat of the Cabinet a proposal to assign Electricité de France (EDF) to prepare the specifications and tender documents for the establishment of two new power plants in Zahrani and Deir Ammar. Simultaneously, discussions with EDF continued, revealing that the cost proposed in EDF's offer was high. Therefore, the Minister of Energy and Water requested to hold off on including this item to allow for further negotiations with the company on the total amount, attempting to reduce the cost to protect public finances and the overall interest of the state, in addition to the unavailability of the necessary funding.
Third: Regarding the media promotion of what is called the electricity plants item, the Minister of Energy and Water confirms that there has been no proposal made for the tendering of new electric plants, nor has he received any complete offers. The ministry, however, has received correspondence from the four manufacturing companies: Siemens, General Electric, Ansaldo, and Mitsubishi, the latest of which was on 20/5/2022, coinciding with the date of the last Cabinet session, expressing their interest in the energy sector. Some of them submitted preliminary offers that are still under review and scrutiny, but no complete offers have been received from the technical, financial, and legal perspectives. It is noteworthy that we are surprised by the arrival of these correspondences to multiple parties alongside their arrival to the Ministry of Energy and Water. Consequently, the Ministry of Energy and Water has not requested to include these offers in the Cabinet because most of them lack technical and financial details. Those that do contain some details have financing costs reaching up to 16%, making the cost of producing a kilowatt higher than the average production cost from all sources over the past years and among the highest in the world, contrary to what is being marketed. It is known that the proposed contracts are long-term, reaching up to 20 years, necessitating that the cost of the kilowatt be low.
Finally, we reiterate and confirm the commitment and diligence of the Ministry of Energy and Water to proceed with implementing the electricity plan according to the decisions of the Cabinet in this regard. The ministry does not aim to sign agreements by mutual consent for purchasing electricity at high prices, but rather to rely on sound legal methods that allow competition for all within a framework of complete transparency, free from any suspicions."
