Electricity crisis in Lebanon… The only airport in the country works with a generator

Due to the budget cut in Lebanon, the stoppage of production at the Deir Ammar and Ez-Zahrani power plants threatens many public sectors in the country.

Lebanese Transport Minister Ali Hamiyya issued a written statement today after the Lebanese Electricity Authority declared yesterday that both power plants stopped production and electricity service could not be provided to citizens. Hamiyye called for an uninterrupted supply of electricity to Beirut International Airport and Beirut Sea Port, which are important red lines for the country, no matter what the circumstances.

The Minister noted that attempts were made to manage the situation temporarily with generators at both ports, but this was not a permanent solution.

‘A FIRST IN THE WORLD’

After the power outage that started yesterday, the Manager of the Beirut International Airport, which is the only airport in Lebanon, also made a written statement. Stating that they are trying to keep the airport open 24 hours with four large generators, Hasan said that this situation is not sustainable.

Hasan said: “No airport in the world operates 24 hours only with a generator.” he used his statements.

Another public sector affected by the cut was the Water Department. In a written statement made by the South Lebanon Water Department, it was stated that wells, water pumping stations and distribution centers will be directly affected by the power outage. In the statement, citizens were asked to use the water sparingly until the power outage is resolved.

Production at power plants halted after the Lebanese Central Bank withdrew government support for the fuel due to the economic crisis that erupted in 2019 and the melting of foreign exchange reserves.

While the country’s daily electricity need is around 3,200 megawatts under normal conditions, this production has been reduced to 500 megawatts for some time now due to the aforementioned crises.

While the power plant in Deyr Ammar and Ez-Zahrani produces only 4 hours of electricity per day, citizens get the remaining 20 hours of electricity from private generators at a very high cost. (AA)