The "Electricity of Lebanon" institution stated today, Monday, that it has decided to prioritize electricity supply to essential facilities in Lebanon due to a significant decline in its gas oil reserves. The statement mentioned that the current electricity generation is solely from the Zahrani and Deir Ammar plants, which rely exclusively on gas oil shipments supplied monthly to the Electricity of Lebanon by the Ministry of Energy and Water - the General Directorate of Oil, according to a swap agreement between the Iraqi and Lebanese governments.
The statement clarified that the first part of the gas oil shipment designated for Electricity of Lebanon for June 2024 arrived on June 27, 2024, and is currently anchored off the Deir Ammar plant's outlet. All necessary administrative and customs procedures have been completed, allowing it to unload its cargo into the storage tanks of the two relevant plants. Meanwhile, the second part of the same shipment arrived on July 4, 2024, and is currently anchored off the Zahrani plant's outlet. It is still awaiting laboratory test results from "Bureau Veritas" laboratories in Dubai, UAE, and verification by the monitoring company appointed by the Ministry of Energy and Water - the General Directorate of Oil.
However, it has also been revealed that there is a financial hold on both parts of the shipment by the supplier due to a financial issue between the Lebanese Central Bank, the Lebanese government, and the Iraqi government, which prevents the unloading of the first part of the shipment and subsequently the second part after completing the necessary technical, administrative, and customs procedures.
In light of this situation, which is beyond the control and responsibility of the Electricity of Lebanon institution, it informed that it has cautiously opted to prioritize electricity supply to essential facilities (airport, port, water pumps, sewage, prisons, a Lebanese university, and state facilities) due to a drastic reduction in its gas oil reserves. Consequently, the Deir Ammar plant has been forced to shut down completely since the night of Saturday, July 6, 2024, and a production unit at the Zahrani plant was also forced to stop after peak hours on Sunday, July 7, 2024, in order to prolong the operation of the other and last unit at the Zahrani plant for approximately four additional days. It is also anticipated that this last unit will stop operating on Thursday, July 11, 2024, due to gas oil depletion at that time.
The institution will reinstate the units that were forcibly taken out of service as soon as it is notified by the relevant authorities about lifting the financial hold on both parts of the shipment and commencing the unloading of the corresponding cargoes sequentially, and then restore supply to its previous state.
In conclusion, the Electricity of Lebanon institution will keep all citizens informed of any developments regarding electricity supply through subsequent statements in this regard.
