The board of directors of Électricité du Liban (EDL) is meeting on Sunday to find a temporary solution to the total blackout that has hit Lebanon since Saturday afternoon due to a lack of fuel.
According to information reported by the Al Jadeed television channel, the aim of the meeting is to send 5 million liters of diesel to the Zahrani power station via a loan, in order to partially restore electricity until Kamal Hayek, Chairman of EDL’s Board of Directors, returns from Greece on Monday and takes the necessary legal steps to obtain authorization to purchase diesel from Iraq and Egypt.
The director of the petroleum installations at the Zahrani power station said that the pumping of 5 million liters had begun at three o’clock in the morning. He stressed that EDL’s board of directors would give the go-ahead and set the date for the power station to be restarted, knowing that it will only supply vital installations.
Électricité du Liban (EDL) announced on Saturday that its power stations would stop producing electricity due to the complete exhaustion of diesel stocks, despite the preventive measures taken since July 27 and the various warnings issued by the public electricity supplier.
The aim of these measures was to preserve fuel reserves in order to guarantee the supply of electricity to citizens for as long as possible and to maintain a continuous power supply to vital installations such as the airport, the port, water pumps and sewers.
It should be noted that electricity production in Lebanon currently relies on the Zahrani and Deir Ammar power stations, while those in Jiyeh and Zouk require maintenance work. Zahrani and Deir Ammar receive diesel fuel supplied to EDL by the Ministry of Energy on a monthly basis under the exchange agreement signed between Iraq and Lebanon on July 23, 2021. This agreement, which came into force in September 2021, provides for Iraq to supply fuel to Lebanese power plants on advantageous terms, with a quantity set at 100,000 metric tons per month. However, due to its high sulfur content, Iraqi fuel cannot be used directly in Lebanese power plants. Consequently, Lebanon buys a compatible type of fuel from other suppliers selected by tender, who receive the Iraqi fuel in exchange.
