Today, Saturday, Electricité du Liban announced that the last remaining power production unit on the electrical grid has completely gone out of service, resulting in a total power outage across all Lebanese territories.
The company stated in a release: “Under the current various circumstances, Electricité du Liban reports that as of noon on 08/17/2024, the last production unit of the Zahrani plant remaining on the electrical grid has been forcibly taken out of service.”
It added that this decision was made “due to the complete depletion of the plant’s gas oil reserves, resulting in a total halt of electrical power supply across all Lebanese territories, affecting essential facilities in Lebanon (airport, port, water pumps, sewage, prisons, etc.).”
The company explained that the cessation of production comes after exhausting all possible precautionary measures taken by Electricité du Liban to extend the energy production period to the maximum possible minimum duration.
The statement indicated that “it will once again restart the units that were forcibly taken offline, in line with the reserves available after securing gas oil, to gradually restore electrical power and supply to its previous state.”
Commenting on Electricity Lebanon’s statement, Fadi Al-Hassan, Director General of Civil Aviation in Beirut, confirmed to Lebanese media that: “The airport is currently securing electrical power from generators, and we hope the crisis will not last long.”
