The promise of Electricité du Liban (EDL) earlier in March that the power supply across Lebanon will begin to improve was short living.
The Deir Ammar power plant, which is one of Lebanon’s four main state electricity producers, has reportedly shut down for running out of fuel, according to local reports.
The Deir Ammar plant, located in North Lebanon, is the second to shut down after the Zahrani power plant stopped operating earlier this week, also due to running out of fuel.
It is to note that the north is not the only region that relies on the Deir Ammar plant for electricity. Beirut, Bekaa, and the South receive an essential part of its production through a transmission tower located in Deir Nbouh, as reported last week by EDL.
That was indicated by EDL when reporting the fall of that tower, resulting in an electrical failure impacting the Baalbek station. The incident was provoked by high wind velocity knocking down the tower after its steel mesh corners got stolen.
The shutdown of the Deir Ammar plant comes at a time when the people in the north have already been suffering long hours without power supply for months due to the rationing of electricity.
As of now, the power plants at Zouk and Jiyeh are still providing electricity to major parts of Lebanon yet not without rationing.
According to a report by LBC Group, the current electricity production in the country is not more than 880 megawatts, which translates into an average daily supply of just about 8h/day.
The parliament has approved a $200 million loan for fuel imports that will aim to provide electricity for at least another two months.
Meanwhile, power transmission towers in various areas of Lebanon have been the target of thefts for their steel mesh corners as well as the street manhole covers for their cast iron.
