President Michel Aoun received Minister of Energy and Water Walid Fayyad at Baabda Palace, discussing the results of efforts to secure fuel for Electricité du Liban from Iraq and Iran, which would increase electricity supply and ease citizens' burdens.
After the meeting, Minister Fayyad spoke to journalists, saying: "I met with His Excellency the President to update him on the progress we are working on, especially in the electricity, oil, and gas sectors. He informed me of the positive developments regarding the border demarcation, and I understood that a positive conclusion is nearing. I updated President Aoun on the developments regarding the fuel files we are following to increase electricity supply. In this context, there are developments in the Iraqi fuel file, and we will hold a virtual working session tomorrow with the Iraqi side to address the specifications that delayed the arrival of the Iraqi fuel shipment to Lebanon. I hope this issue will be resolved after tomorrow's meeting so we can resume receiving the remaining Iraqi fuel shipments, which amount to 190,000 tons that we expect to arrive in the next two months. After that, we will discuss renewing the agreement for fuel with the Iraqis, and we plan to visit Iraq for this purpose, especially since President Mikati recently met with his Iraqi counterpart in the United States and agreed on the necessity of visiting Iraq to discuss renewing the agreement to obtain an additional million tons of fuel, which can provide 3 to 4 hours of electricity supply daily for a year."
He added, "At the same time, I informed the President about the positive results of the technical delegation's visit to Iran, where Iran has committed to providing Lebanon with a fuel gift that, combined with Iraqi fuel, can increase the electricity supply to around 8 to 10 hours a day. We will now work with the Iranian side on the specifications and securing the fuel we need for our plants. I also had a phone call with the Algerian Minister of Oil, who expressed Algeria's desire to support Lebanon regarding fuel, and he invited me to visit Algeria to discuss this file, which I will do in the second or third week of next month. I also discussed with the President the issue of electricity tariffs after the Ministry of Finance issued a decision confirming that there is no objection to increasing this tariff, which will lead to reducing electricity bills for citizens since the official tariff for Electricité du Liban remains much lower than that of private generators."
When asked when he expects Iranian oil to arrive in Lebanon, he replied: "Within days or weeks, because the Iranian side is eager to provide assistance swiftly in this area, and we urgently need to secure better electricity supply for citizens."
Regarding the chaos in generator pricing, he stated: "This issue should be addressed at the level of the Ministry of Interior, Internal Security Forces, and the Consumer Protection Directorate in the Ministry of Economy. I am ready to meet with the Ministers of Interior and Economy to discuss ways to activate oversight on this matter."
When inquired about developments in the Egyptian gas and Jordanian electricity files, he responded: "In this file, the World Bank insists on implementing the new tariff for Electricité du Liban's electricity bill as a precondition before financing this project, in addition to starting procedures for appointing the regulatory authority for electricity. We have made significant progress in the last file, after seeking assistance from the Association of Mediterranean Regulatory Authorities to help us draft the organizational structure for the regulatory authority in Lebanon and the job specifications for each department. Once we finish these two files, we will have achieved the two basic conditions for the World Bank, and then we can enter into financing negotiations that should have taken place last spring."
