Lebanon power grid working again after blackout hit country

Lebanon power grid working again after blackout hit country

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

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

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.

Dr Walid Fayyad, the energy minister, said the al Zahrani and Deir Ammar stations would be running at maximum capacity by Sunday evening.

An official from state-run electricity firm, Electricite du Liban, was quoted by UAE news site The National as saying power was restored after the army provided 6,000kl of fuel.

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 food, water and medicines have also been affected. The World Bank said the economic collapse is one of the worst in modern history.

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