Lebanon's Electricity Is Heading To The Worst Crisis Ever
راحت الكهرباء
The decades-old electricity rationing problem has long become a normal part of everyday life in Lebanon.
Among others, the numbers 2, 6, 10, and 12, can have a strange effect on a Lebanese individual, not for their mathematical properties but for the darkness that follows whenever the hour hand of a clock strikes them.
Over the years, new politicians are elected and with them come along promising assurances that in the year 20XX , Lebanon will have a 24/7 electricity supply.
Yet, time and time again, as we approach (even pass) these promised years, the rationing not only remains unaltered but grows worse.
View on Instagram
The second decade of the 21st century of advancement, technology, and speed is here.
With its arrival, many countries of the world celebrated the outstanding achievements that they have already accomplished in the past 10 years and looked forth with excitement at the ones awaiting to be attained.
In Lebanon, however, there are no such celebrations. Instead, there are protests and more protests against the many mistakes and failures of the ruling class.
View on Instagram
The most basic of the Lebanese people's needs to thrive and produce are denied to them. Among numerous others, the deprivation of electricity is a major obstacle in the face of any society.
The aforementioned promises by politicians and the many proposals and offerings presented by other countries should have already solved the problem of electricity in Lebanon.
So why are our cities still dark at night? Why is Lebanon "extinguishing" in darkness?"
An electrifying deficiency
View on Instagram
More than 40% of the general deficit of the Lebanese government comes from the domain of electricity (2,500 billion Lebanese Pounds in the latest estimates).
The many consistent failures in this domain over the years have been dangerously depleting the economy and creating a continuous, challenging cycle of failure and deficit.
Hence, the government's efforts should be put into solving the problems present at the roots of these failures, which, in turn, would return positive results for the economy and decrease the general deficit.
View on Instagram
The solution being worked on, however, is not very productive. Since before the end of 2019, the caretaker government has been working on a 2020 budget that will supposedly be "less deficient" than that of the past year.
As good as it sounds, there is an alarming implication to be made of this declaration.
As it can be deduced from the caretaker Finance Minister's statement, that "the financial contribution of the electricity sector will be reduced to 1,500 billion Liras," the lower deficiency of the new budget will be the result of the government decreasing its expenses on Electricité du Liban .
View on Instagram
Not only does this financial cut not end the deficit caused by the Lebanese electric sector, a deficit that is expected to build right back up with time. But it also means that the hours of supply provided to the citizens will consequently be reduced further.
The deficiency is also expected to increase soon because of the predicted rise in the prices of oil in the world caused by the Saudi oil facilities being recently damaged in a military strike.
In context, the designated 1,500 billion LBP roughly equal to less than 10 hours a day of supply over the entire year.
View on Instagram
What about the new factories?
As confirmed by sources of Al Joumhouria, the Electricity of Lebanon's institution is expected to have more factories up and running in the near future and, thus, will require additional funds to operate them.
But these factories will not be ready for production before at least three years due to various legal and procedural issues.