Private generator owners in several Lebanese areas began notifying their subscribers on Wednesday that they would stop supplying electricity due to the depletion of their diesel fuel stocks, amidst a widespread fuel shortage in the country, which is experiencing an unprecedented economic collapse. The depletion of diesel on Wednesday resulted in a power outage at an administrative building affiliated with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants, according to local media, leading employees to halt their work and causing frustration among citizens present to complete their transactions.
Lebanese citizens have been waiting for hours in long lines outside fuel stations, which have implemented strict rationing policies for distributing gasoline and diesel. Meanwhile, the capacity of Electricité du Liban (Lebanon's electricity company) to provide power has gradually declined, with daily power cuts reaching up to 22 hours.
Abdou Saade, the head of the private generator owners, told Agence France-Presse that "generator owners in several areas started informing subscribers on Wednesday of their inability to provide electricity due to the unavailability of diesel." He added, "We previously warned at the end of the week that the stock would begin to run out by Tuesday or Wednesday (...) and we have reached this day without finding any solution" from the officials.
According to importers, the fuel shortage is primarily attributed to the Central Bank of Lebanon's slow pace in opening required credits for fuel imports, including the diesel used to operate power plants, gasoline, and diesel, alongside the depletion of dollar reserves amid ongoing economic collapse and political paralysis. The Central Bank supports fuel imports through a mechanism that provides 85 percent of the total cost of imports at the fixed official exchange rate of 1,507 pounds, while importers pay the remaining amount at the black market rate exceeding 15,000 pounds.
However, authorities, at the behest of the central bank, have been studying for months to rationalize or lift subsidies on essential imports, such as flour, fuel, and medicine, having gradually begun to lift support for several products without an official announcement.
Officials link the current crisis to two main factors: the initiative taken by traders to hoard supplies and the flourishing of smuggling to neighboring Syria. Security forces periodically announce the arrest of those involved in smuggling operations and raids on warehouses hoarding large quantities of subsidized diesel and gasoline.
Dual Rationing
Nihad (74 years old) told AFP, "We had become accustomed to state electricity rationing, and now we are also suffering from the rationing of private generators... I don't know how long the food in the fridge will last, and we can no longer buy goods as we used to due to rising prices."
Lebanon has faced an escalating problem in the electricity sector for at least three decades, with dilapidated plants, forcing the majority of citizens to pay two bills: one to the state and another high bill to private generator owners that compensate for the state's supply shortfall.
The electricity sector is the worst among already dilapidated infrastructure facilities. Its reform is one of the key demands of the international community to support Lebanon.
As authorities fail to find rescue solutions to end the ongoing crisis, which the World Bank classified this month as among the three worst since the mid-19th century, the repercussions of the collapse are becoming increasingly apparent. Voices from various sectors are rising, warning of the consequences of fuel shortages, most notably by Imad Kreidieh, the general director of Ogero, the official internet service provider in Lebanon. He warned this month that "continuing in this manner seriously threatens Ogero's ability to provide services" due to "the continuous increase in electricity rationing hours."
