4 days ago
Energy Ministry faces backlash over talk of electricity rationing amid heat wave
BEIRUT — Lebanon is facing potential electricity rationing as a heat wave drives up consumption, triggering an online campaign against the Ministry of Energy and Water and its current leadership under the Lebanese Forces (LF).
The Byblos Electrical Contracting Company, which operates under the Jbeil Electricity Concession, issued a statement Monday announcing "emergency measures due to the heat and rising demand."
"Generator muffler doors will be opened from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. to maintain cooling, and technicians may shut down generators for up to 90 minutes if temperatures exceed operational limits," the statement explains. According to the company, four generators have already broken down as a result of overheating, with efforts to replace them underway.
Électricité du Liban (EDL) has not officially announced any rationing yet; however, the state electricity provider usually gives advance notice before implementing rationing.
The ministry is headed by LF's Minister Joseph Saddi, who was unresponsive to L'Orient Today's request for comment.
Amid concerns that Lebanon's electricity supply will one again be reduced, LF is facing backlash online and accusations of failing to deliver on past promises of 24/7 electricity.
The criticism intensified after a video resurfaced of party spokesperson Charles Jabbour telling MTV that if the LF were handed the Energy Ministry, 'the Lebanese will be provided with 24 hours per day electricity,' a promise he said was made by LF leader Samir Geagea. 'When Dr. Geagea promises, he serves,' Jabbour added. The video has been widely circulated on X since Sunday night.
During an interview last week, when asked what his party's promises were to the people of Lebanon with regard to electricity supply, LF MP Pierre Abou Assi responded simply: 'We don't promise them anything.' His answer roused further condemnation.
FPM official, supporters participate in campaign
Prominent in the online campaign against LF were Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) officials and supporters.
'Samir Geagea failed in just 6 months at the Ministry of Energy," Wadih Akl, a member of the FPM's political bureau, wrote on X. "Total blackout across all of Lebanon, complete darkness, increase in gasoline and diesel prices for citizens, scandals involving fake or tainted fuel ... The result: not zero, below zero. This is militia rule.'
Last week, Cabinet took a decision to remove Jean Gebran, head of the Beirut and Mount Lebanon Water Establishment, whose term had ended in 2021. However, informed sources told al-Markazia the dismissal was linked to 'his use of the institution to further his electoral ambitions, having announced plans to run as the Free Patriotic Movement's candidate in Jbeil next year.'
The same sources said the decision was 'not political retaliation but a reform step,' pointing to Gebran's 'blatant use of services and hiring in Jbeil and Kesrouan as a form of political clientelism.'
LF supporters respond to FPM
Supporters of LF took to X to defend their party's position. Gilda Ayouby, whose X shows her support to LF wrote: "To have electricity available 24/7, there are only two solutions. The first is to secure external funding to build power plants and purchase fuel. The second is for Gebran Bassil to return 10 percent of what he stole from the Ministry of Energy. There is no third option."
Laure Challita wrote: "You had the Energy Ministry with you for seventeen years — what have you done besides stealing?"
'Malfunctions in supply network'
MTV reported that Saddi met with EDL Director General Kamal Hayek on Monday morning to follow up on the supply network's malfunctions. Saddi reportedly requested an investigation into whether sabotage could be behind some of the outages, after receiving 'information suggesting suspicions about the nature of some of the recent power outage incidents.'
A source at EDL told L'Orient Today on Monday that the power outage in the Zouk network that occurred Sunday is being repaired and electricity is expected to be restored around midnight.
The cause of the outage, according to EDL, was a drop in the insulation on a connector bridge of a high-voltage transformer. The malfunction occurred at the Zouk thermal power plant's main substation, "due to humidity and intense heat."
