Lebanon could plunge in ‘total darkness’ with no money for fuel

Lebanon could plunge in ‘total darkness’ with no money for fuel

Power cuts have been common in Lebanon ever since the end of the 1975-1990 civil war, forcing Lebanese to pay a second power bill to private generators for three to 12 hours each day during the outages.

Now the country is facing its worst economic crisis in decades, and fast running out of hard currency to back imports.

Caretaker energy minister Raymond Ghajar warned the state electricity company, Electricite du Liban, was strapped for cash.

“Lebanon could head towards total darkness at the end of the month if Electricité du Liban is not provided with financial aid to buy fuel,” he said, the official National News Agency reported.

Ghajar, who was speaking after meeting Lebanese President Michel Aoun, warned of repercussions on all sectors if the power went out.

“Imagine your life without electricity, internet, phones, hospitals or vaccines… It's surreal to live in the 21st century without electricity,” he said.

A Lebanese woman protests outside the ministry of energy in Beirut  against the recurrent power cuts. (AFP).Ghajar has called for emergency funding for the state power company to continue providing power, until a larger loan is approved by parliament.

Until now the electricity company had been functioning on the remains of a loan allocated under the