The Ministry of Energy and Water announced on Wednesday, September 27, that the Committee of Legislation & Consultations at the Ministry of Justice has approved the possibility for citizens to settle their electricity bills either in US dollars or Lebanese Pounds (LBP) in cash, depending on each citizen’s preference.
This decision was made following a consultation requested by Électricité Du Liban (EDL) on September 20.
However, for this measure to take effect, the Ministry of Energy stated that it would “require a decision from EDL’s Board of Directors, which the institution is currently in the process of preparing.”
This initiative aims to address EDL’s liquidity issue in hard currency by allowing it to accept payments either in USD or LBP.
The Ministry of Energy emphasized that this decision would “grant citizens a level of flexibility to choose the currency that best suits them, especially considering that the current exchange rate for the US dollar is approximately 103,000 LBP per dollar on the invoice. This encourages citizens to pay in dollars in order to save money.”
The decision, a statement released by the Ministry added, would also “supply EDL with the dollars it needs to successfully implement its electricity plan and increase power supply.”
