energy

Lebanon power grid working again after blackout hit country

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Lebanon’s national grid is running again after a 24-hour shutdown, officials said.

Authorities had expected the blackout to continue until at least Monday after the country’s two largest power stations closed on Saturday due to fuel shortages.

The energy ministry said power was restored after the army provided 6m litres of fuel which was shared equally between the the al Zahrani and Deir Ammar stations.

Dr Walid Fayyad, the energy minister, said the two stations would be running at maximum capacity by Sunday evening.

He said the central bank has approved $100m (£73m) in credit to import fuel to keep power stations running.

Lebanon has been troubled by fuel shortages since its economy began to collapse in 2019. Residents have reported being limited to as little as one or two hours of power a day and businesses and hospitals have been working at reduced capacity, with some shutting down.

Supplies of water and medicines have also been affected. Inflation has soared, particularly for food and drink and many people have been forced to go hungry. The World Bank said the economic collapse is one of the worst in modern history.

Last month, the United Nations pledged $10m (£7m) to ease the fuel crisis, allocated to water stations and 65 hospitals and other medical facilities.

Egypt said it was close to finalising a deal to supply gas to Lebanon after a meeting between the two countries’ energy ministers this week. Jordan reportedly plans to start supplying electricity by the end of the year.

Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah last month provided 4m litres of fuel which it said would be distributed free-of-charge to hospitals and sold at a low price to businesses.

Saturday’s blackout meant residents of Lebanon were left to rely on private generators for power. Many people routinely use their own generators but running costs have soared to a prohibitive level. The government raised fuel prices by 16 per cent twice in five days last month.

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