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Following the widespread blackout of Électricité du Liban (EDL) on August 17, caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati requested that the Central Inspection Authority shed light on the causes of this outage, which brought the country to a standstill. How is the investigation proceeding?
Caretaker Minister of Energy and Water Walid Fayad, along with the General Director of Lebanon’s electricity company, EDL, Kamal Hayek, were questioned last Wednesday at the Beirut Palace of Justice by Interim Public Prosecutor Jamal Hajjar. This hearing is part of an investigation launched by authorities following the power blackout. The content of the hearings has not been made public, and the individuals involved have not commented on the matter.
Since Saturday, August 17, the Lebanese have relied solely on private generators for their electricity supply. On that day, the public electricity provider announced it had shut down all production units at its thermal power plants due to depleted fuel stocks and the failure to receive the latest shipment under the 2021 swap agreement between Lebanon and Iraq.
An investigation still in its early stages
In this context, This is Beirut spoke with journalist and legal expert Youssef Diab, who clarified that “these individuals are being questioned as witnesses, not suspects,” to establish accountability. He explained that “since the investigation is still in its preliminary stages, it remains confidential and will only be made public once it is completed. Only then are responsibilities determined and any potential charges made.” Diab added that “so far, four members of EDL’s board have been indicted by Judge Hajjar. The hearings began last week, but the conclusion date remains uncertain. Kamal Hayek may also be summoned again.
This isn’t the first time an EDL CEO has been summoned. “Previously, Mouhib Itani was arrested and detained during Emile Lahoud’s presidency for political reasons,” Diab pointed out.
Regarding the legal and procedural aspects of the investigation, Diab explained that “the judiciary or the Central Inspection body addresses these issues. The public prosecutor is the sole authority responsible for gathering evidence of inefficiency, negligence or premeditation. He leads the investigation to identify those responsible. In case of negligence, the case is forwarded to the Beirut Public Prosecutor’s Office, then to the investigating judge, and eventually to the court. If no evidence of inefficiency or negligence is found, the case is suspended.”
The need for a parliamentary investigation
For his part, the former General Director of the Ministry of Energy and expert at the Lebanese Institute for Market Studies, Ghassan Beydoun, believes that “the results of this investigation will not positively affect the blackout issue.” He argues that “at best, it might lead to a disciplinary action. Had judicial investigations produced significant results, many EDL and Ministry of Energy officials would already be in prison.” Instead, Beydoun advocates for “the establishment of a parliamentary investigation” to better understand why EDL has failed to increase the number of electricity hours it had promised to provide.
Furthermore, Beydoun criticizes “the negligence and interference of the government and successive energy ministers in EDL’s affairs.” He adds that “the enforcement of external decisions and plans on an organization (EDL) with an alarming deficit has led to the depletion of public finances due to the transfer of this deficit to the public treasury.”
To prevent further deterioration of the situation, Beydoun stresses the need to “reevaluate the emergency electricity plan so that the government, EDL’s president, and the relevant committee members can learn from past experiences, including failures in cooperation with Algeria, Iraq and Kuwait.” He also underlines “the importance of securing a stable, reliable and sustainable fuel supply for EDL” and the need to “stop spot cargo practices, which could lead to violations and penalties.”
Unenforced laws and poor governance
In an interview with This is Beirut, Laury Haytayan, an expert on oil and gas for the Middle East and North Africa, described the investigation as a “farce orchestrated by PM Najib Mikati to create a semblance of action.” She further noted that “the legal system in Lebanon is flawed and lacks real authority.”
According to Haytayan, this is simply an “administrative formality,” the real problem being “poor governance, EDL’s dependence on the government, and the failure to enforce laws such as Law 462/2002 and Law 318/2023.” She stressed that “rather than getting bogged down in details like who signed specific documents or whether Hayek was on vacation, it would be more effective to conduct a thorough investigation into the institutions and flawed governance that has persisted for decades.”
It should be noted that a regulatory framework for the electricity sector was established 19 years ago with Law 462/2002. This law was intended to organize the electricity sector, create the National Electricity Regulatory Authority (NERA), and restructure the sector’s activities. However, the Authority has never been established due to ongoing political disagreements about its role and powers.
Without the establishment of the Regulatory Authority, Law 318/2023 on Decentralized Renewable Energy – which allows for the sale of electricity produced by the private sector from renewable sources and the connection of private generators to the EDL grid with a maximum capacity of 10 megawatts – cannot be implemented.
As a result, the investigation remains pending, and the Lebanese state continues to rely on temporary solutions and donations, much to the population’s dismay.
