Elias Medawar Street, in Beirut’s Furn el-Chebbak neighborhood, is lit by car headlights and apartments running private generators. 30 September 2021 (Photo credit: MEE/Rita Kabalan)
Lebanese officials announced on 9 October that the country’s two main power stations have been forced to shut down due to a shortage of fuel.
“The Lebanese power network completely stopped working at noon today, and it is unlikely that it will work until next Monday, or for several days,” an Électricité du Liban (EDL) official said.
This complete blackout was reportedly caused by the shutdown of the Zahrani and Deir Ammar power plants, with officials saying there was no possibility for operations at the plants to resume.
In response to this critical situation, EDL officials say that the Lebanese army will provide 6,000 kilo-liters of gas oil for the two power stations, an amount that will produce three days’ worth of electricity for Lebanon.
The news comes on the same day as the 13th convoy of Iranian fuel acquired by Hezbollah entered Lebanon from Syria. The convoy of 60 fuel tankers is reportedly carrying 50,000 liters of diesel in each tanker.
A significant portion of the diesel brought into the country so far has been donated to hospitals, orphanages and other institutions in need.
Since 16 September, the Lebanese resistance movement has been bringing in convoys of Iranian fuel to Lebanon as part of a deal reached with Tehran back in August, which has so far allowed three oil tankers to dock in Syria’s Baniyas Port.
Hezbollah and Iran had no option but to have the oil tankers dock in Syria in order to circumvent US economic sanctions.
Lebanon’s energy crisis has been devastating for the country, with some citizens forced to rely on private generators for their energy needs. Before this shutdown, the country’s power grid had only been able to provide as little as one hour of electricity per day.