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Caretaker Minister of Energy Walid Fayad warned after a ministerial meeting on electricity that if the fuel vessel that his ministry ordered does not deliver its cargo, the power supply will decrease as early as October. He went as far as accusing the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank (BDL) of lack of transparency further exacerbating the dispute between them.  Decisions on the issue were referred to the Council of Ministers.

Caretaker Minister of Energy Walid Fayad warned on Monday that power supply will decrease as of October in case the fuel-laden ship does not unload its cargo. He said the fuel reserves are sufficient to supply electricity until the end of September, at the rate of 4 to 5 hours a day.

Fayad made his comments at the end of a ministerial meeting dedicated to electricity which was held at the Grand Serail, under the chairmanship of the outgoing Prime Minister, Najib Mikati. The discussions focused on the problem of fuel imported by the Ministry of Energy without having had the approval of the ministerial commission in charge of electricity. The necessary decisions will however be taken during the Council of Ministers which should be held next week. According to sources contacted by This is Beirut, the participants failed to reach an agreement. Some ministers have suggested that BDL Acting Governor Wassim Mansouri attends the cabinet meeting.

The war continues

The feud between the Ministry of Energy, the government, the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank, around the financing of this shipment of fuel, is not over yet. Fayad insists that the order was made according to the rules and that Lebanon’s electricity company, Electricité du Liban (EDL), has the necessary funds to pay for the shipment.

EDL revealed during the meeting that of the 300 million dollars advance from the Treasury, it still possessed some funds, enough to pay for the fuel cargo which, according to Fayad, costs nearly 59 million.

“The BDL has announced that it no longer wants to finance the state with depositors’ money,” Fayad said after the meeting. “That’s what we want too. However, we believe that the advance from the Treasury that was granted to EDL was assured. But we do not know where this sum comes from, for lack of transparency.”

Fayad pointed out that EDL has the means to pay for this cargo, since it has about 43 million dollars, but in Lebanese pounds on the basis of 100,000 pounds for one dollar. “The process of converting pounds into dollars can be done by the central bank, if it decides,” he said.

To clarify this affair, the ministerial commission had granted EDL last Monday a period of one week to “provide details on the quantities of fuel available as well as on the funds at its disposal for the opening of a line of credit from the BDL, requested (firmly) by the Ministry of Energy”.

It should be noted that procrastination is expensive for the Lebanese State, which pays fines for each day of delay. The tanker Ardmore arrived off the coast of Lebanon on August 11. The ship’s cargo was mandated by the inspection company to ensure compliance with its specifications and an unloading permit was issued. It is therefore ready to start the delivery process as soon as the BDL opens the line of credit.

Last December, ships loaded with fuel remained on hold off the Lebanese coast for several weeks due to the same payment problem. The State sustained considerable loss then amounting to 18,000 dollars per day and per ship as compensation for delay. Thus, the state continues to waste money that it does not have.