SAWT BEIRUT INTERNATIONAL

| 29 March 2024, Friday |

Total darkness again: Al-Zahrani lab at risk of work suspension

The Electricite du Liban, in a statement, stated, “The operator of the Al-Zahrani and Deir Ammar labs, in his letter No. PSHQ/EDL/LTR/06072022/384 dated 06/07/2022, has stated that he will stop carrying out his business, due to his failure to receive his dues in hard currency (Fresh). Dollar), in accordance with Cabinet Resolutions No. 12 dated 04/14/2022 and No. 171 dated 20/05/2022 issued in this regard, which will lead to the Al-Zahrani plant, which is currently the only thermal plant producing electric power on the grid, from producing power at the hour. Five in the afternoon on Wednesday 06/07/2022, knowing that the Electricité du Liban has completed all the administrative procedures, and referred its payments in accordance with the decisions of the Council of Ministers to be paid about a month ago, but to date it has not been disbursed by the financial and monetary references concerned in the country.

The statement added: “It is also worth noting that the two decisions of the Council of Ministers concerned, since the beginning of 2022, have been allocated to the Electricité du Liban (EDL) only an amount of $60 million only, for the necessity of all the contractors of the Corporation, knowing that this allocated amount is not sufficient in relation to the volume of The work that is required to be carried out with the minimum possible for the management of the public facility.

In view of this situation outside the control and responsibility of the entire Electricité du Liban, the failure to disburse the specified amounts in hard currencies (Fresh Dollars) to the contractor in accordance with the decisions of the Council of Ministers, will lead to the suspension of the operator of the Al-Zahrani and Deir Ammar factories from work, without the possibility of putting them back on the network, which The entry will be imposed by a general and comprehensive interruption on all Lebanese territories, which in turn will lead to a forced cessation of feeding all the basic vital facilities in the country (airport, port, water pumps, sewage, basic facilities in the state.”

EDL indicated that “it had developed a production plan and taken a series of precautionary measures, which it had previously announced in its previous statements, in order to maintain the sustainability of energy production at a minimum for the longest possible period, especially during the blessed Eid al-Adha period, but this problem is What happened to it is outside the scope of its ability and powers to address it, and therefore it cannot be resolved, even if temporarily, except by implementing the decisions of the Council of Ministers in this regard by the relevant financial and monetary references in the country.

    Source:
  • NNA