Seriously what’s with the hold up? Is it money? In Kuwait where I am currently living for example we had a power shortage last year. Kuwait was producing around 10,000 megawatts of electricity but we were using around 9,800. So this year they increased the production by by 2,000 so that we have 12,000 megawatts and they will keep increasing it until by 2015 we would be producing 20,000 megawatts.
From what I previously read Lebanon produces 1,500 megawatts of power. Why haven’t we doubled that or tripled that? Can’t we all pitch in like $10 and solve our electricity problem? The war has been over for over 20 years!
Not really about us all contributing, most of us already pay our fair share. I hear there is groups and areas in lebanon where no one pays for their electricity though, maybe if those people would start paying.
Like Heba said, the problem is people stealing electricity and causing the EDL massive losses, to an extent that no one wants to invest anymore in it or improve it. Plus you have those with small generators backed by some politicians and making illegal money like crazy all over Lebanon.
We pay barely 60$ in electricity bills every month and 110$ for the generator dude on average, with chances that increases based on recent events. For ex, in times of war or political crisis, he doubles the prices no questions asked.
Mark,
How old or antiquated is the Grid? Is it up to current standards. The reason I ask it seems that the system could be held together by band aid and also politicians seem to be using it as a cash cow.
najib, how polluted is Beirut from the exhaust of those Diesel fueled (I assume) generators?
The crippling of the EDL is a political thing, not gonna go into it, but a plan exists to restore full production with 36 to 48 month…will they spend the money, lets see what this new Gov is all about if the pull it off then someone’s got some explaining to do…
stealing and corruption are a problem, but that’s a problem for which there has never been a consideration. when all the phone lines were dropped underground in the 90s, they could have done the same for electricity and made it very hard for people to “y3al’o” but they didn’t, they could install pay as you go counters, and still they don’t… it’s sabotage plain and simple, and you’d have to be blind not to see it…
oops sorry i went into it…couldn’t resist
While it is true that there are people that are not paying for electricity, the state can start by shifting to gas production which is cheaper and cleaner than fuel oil.
There is a MAFIA preventing this from happening.
The secondary electricity market (generators, ishtirak etc..) is over a billion dollars per year. I’m sure the people that are not allowing 24 hours electricity have a cut in that