A transmission tower fell over in the northern Lebanese locality of Deir Nbouh on Monday, causing an electrical failure.
Electricité du Liban (EDL) said in a statement on Tuesday that the tower had fallen due to the theft of the steel mesh corners supporting it. The incident disrupted the main Deir Nbouh – Baalbek transmission line (220 kV).
The said tower distributes “an essential part of the production of the Deir Ammar plant toward Bekaa, Beirut, and the South,” EDL stated.
The fall was facilitated by the high wind velocity, and it led to the cutting of the transmission and communication lines between the Deir Ammar plant and the Baalbek station.
It’s also been discovered that transmission towers in other areas have had their corners stolen, which puts them at risk of a similar fate, “keeping in mind that the repairs will require a long time,” EDL said.
EDL warned that the Deir Nbouh – Baalbek line’s disconnection will negatively affect the stability of the electrical network and weaken the connection between the Zahrani and Deir Ammar plants, noting that any other malfunction that may occur will lead to a loss of supply to several main stations, especially the one feeding Baalbek.
As such, EDL called on the authorities, particularly security forces, to take strict measures and “pursue the aggressors against its installations.”
The institution warned that the persistence of these incidents would lead to “unforeseen disasters on the level of electrical supply in all Lebanese regions,” not to mention material damages that are difficult to compensate due to the shortage of hard currency.