During an interview with a local radio station, the head of the Syndicate of Generator Owners revealed the worrying reality Lebanon might be heading towards.
If subsidies are cut on diesel, people may have to pay up to 500,000 LBP per month just to operate a 5-ampere generator. And that’s just the minimum.
How much will state electricity cost then?
This brings flashbacks to the hottest months of this year when Lebanon was also facing a fuel crisis and blackouts. Many people were left without electricity in the humid, sticky summer heat.
If a government is not formed soon and quickly, Lebanon could suffer a social catastrophe, as the central bank governor Riad Salameh warned that subsidies on essential goods can be sustained for only two more months.
While “generator mafias” thrive off political dysfunction, even this is very bad for their business.
Meanwhile, Lebanon’s caretaker government is at work trying to form a plan to cut spending and keep subsidies on the most essential things: bread and essential medicine.
