Lebanon’s two key power plants – 460MW Deir Ammar near Tripoli and 450MW Zahrani near Sidon – went offline on 9 October after running out of fuel leading to the full shutdown of the Lebanese power grid. The plants together represent 41% of Lebanon’s 2.2GW of available capacity (MEES, 6 July 2018). This follows last week’s disconnection from the grid of power ships operated by Turkey’s Karpowership (MEES, 8 October).
State power firm Électricité du Liban (EdL) did secure 38,000 barrels of diesel from the Lebanese army on 10 October as well as a $100mn loan from Banque du Liban, the country’s central bank, to secure more fuel. But EdL generation remains below 200MW according to media reports, leaving the company struggling to keep the frequency stable. With at best 2 hours per day of on-grid supplies, Lebanon’s public, hospitals, and critical facilities are ever-more reliant on expensive diesel generators. (CONTINUED - 321 WORDS)