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Electricité du Liban (EDL) reported a series of large-scale thefts affecting the high-voltage towers of the Baalbeck-Deir Nbouh line, Baalbeck-Labweh section (in the area surrounding the village of Al-Sawaniyeh), in the district of Baalbeck.
The company reported that this line has been the target of systematic thefts for about three years, resulting in financial losses amounting to millions of dollars. The public electricity provider emphasized that the rehabilitation of this line will take time “due to the lack of hard currencies.”
Despite previous announcements and appeals regarding widespread theft in the northern regions of Bekaa and across the entire Lebanese territory, mainly those associated with the theft of iron fittings from lattice towers supporting high-voltage lines, these practices are still ongoing,” expressed EDL.
During an inspection on November 14th, EDL’s technical teams uncovered that the 220 kV high-voltage towers of the Baalbeck/Deir-Nbouh line (Baalbeck-Labweh section) had been the target of thefts. According to the technicians, “the damage is very serious, as tower No. 37 was demolished, leading to the collapse of No. 36 as well as a portion of tower No. 38, in addition to the damage to No. 35 and the theft of carriers (which enable the massive movement of electrical energy from a production site, such as a power plant, to a substation),” as stated in a release from EDL.
According to the statement, the electricity supply in the areas supplied by the main plants in Labweh and Hermel is in critical condition. This is due to the fact that today, the region solely relies on the Baalbeck plant as its source through the 66 kV lines, with no alternative due to the collapse of the 220 kV towers.
EDL has reaffirmed its plea to the relevant security authorities to identify the perpetrators, arrest them, and take decisive action against these systematic attacks on all supplier installations, especially the high-voltage towers.
