Lebanon: Nationwide power outage | Human Rights Watch

(Beirut) Lebanon The government’s continued mismanagement of the electricity sector and failure to implement key reforms are further undermining the public’s already limited access to electricity, Human Rights Watch said today.

On August 17, 2024, Lebanon’s only operating power plant was shut down after the state-run electricity company Electricite de Lebanon (EDL) Running out of fuelThe blackout caused a nationwide power outage that affected residents and major states. mechanismInfrastructure such as airports, water pumping stations, sewage systems and prisons have been without state-provided electricity for more than 24 hours and have had to rely on expensive and polluting private diesel generators.

“The government’s continued deliberate mismanagement has plunged the country into complete darkness, and residents are having to pay the price,” Ramsay KeyesLebanon researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Without critical reforms to ensure consistent, accessible, and clean electricity, Lebanon will be plunged into one severe blackout after another with no end in sight.”

Human Rights Watch 2023 Report Record Lebanon’s electricity crisis is hindering the Lebanese people from realizing their right to electricity, as well as other rights, including the rights to education, health, water, sanitation and a healthy environment.

The South Lebanon Water Authority, the utility responsible for supplying water and treating wastewater in southern Lebanon, has released a statement On August 18, it called on people to conserve water “as much as possible” in view of the current power outages. It said the utility’s reliance on private diesel generators “is not sufficient to provide enough water to supply all towns under the agency’s jurisdiction.”

The blackout on August 17 was caused by the government’s failure to Late Payment To the Iraqi government supply The Lebanese government could then exchange Find fossil fuels that are compatible with Lebanon’s power plants. EDL said the last operating power plant was closed after fossil fuel reserves were exhausted. explainThis resulted in a “total power outage across Lebanon”.

media Reported The Lebanese government demanded that Iraq forgive part of Lebanon’s outstanding debt for previous fuel shipments, which led Iraq to postpone further shipments. On August 18, Algerian authorities statement They will provide Lebanon with fuel to keep its power plants running after the blackout, and send On August 22, the Lebanese government delivered thousands of tons of electricity to Lebanon, but further details about this arrangement have not been made public. On August 19, Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati asked Lebanon’s Central Inspectorate (a government agency responsible for supervising public institutions) to investigate the power outage.

On August 21, Human Rights Watch wrote to the Minister of Energy and Water to inquire about the power outages, promised reforms, and the government’s steps to address the problem, but has not received a written response.

For nearly 30 years, the Lebanese authorities have failed to properly manage the state-owned electricity company, resulting in widespread power outages. Between 2005 and 2020, the Lebanese government purchased Billions of dollars‘ worth of contaminated, defective fuel, from a subsidiary of Algeria’s national oil company Sonatrach. The result of decades of unsustainable policies and fundamental neglect, elite grabbing of state resources, alleged corruption and vested interests, led to a complete collapse in 2021 amid an ongoing economic crisis, leaving the country without electricity for much of the year.

The government, including the Ministry of Energy and Water Resources, which is responsible for overall strategic planning and policy development for electricity, has failed to implement key reforms to unlock donor funding, provide more people with consistent, accessible and clean electricity from renewable sources, and rapidly phase out the use of fossil fuels.

In December 2023, the Lebanese Parliament passed Distributed Renewable Energy Law, The bill aims to organize the renewable energy industry, increase electricity supply hours by integrating renewable energy into the national grid, and allow private renewable energy to sell electricity. However, the bill has not yet come into effect as the government has failed to launch and appoint members to the Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERA), the independent regulator that has been responsible for overseeing the electricity sector since 2002.

"ERA's appointment is not for political reasons," Lebanon Oil and Gas Plantold Human Rights Watch. “The political parties are behind the ban on transferring ministerial powers to the ERA.” In the absence of the ERA, the Council of Ministers, especially the Ministers of Energy and Water, has almost total control, with a lack of transparency and accountability.

In 2023, the World Bank has the conditions agree According to media reports, the government will finance Lebanon’s agreement to import electricity and methane gas from Jordan and Egypt if the Lebanese authorities carry out reforms. The reforms include launching the ERA, auditing the EDL and improving electricity tariff collection. But in addition to not appointing the ERA, the government has also not published the required audit results.

Human Rights Watch said the World Bank should avoid financing any new energy projects that rely on fossil fuels and instead provide technical and financial support to expand renewable energy infrastructure. The two main measures listed by the World Bank rely heavily on fossil fuels as the main source of electricity, while renewable energy remains relatively limited and is largely seen as a last resort.

A 2023 Human Rights Watch report found that Lebanon has almost unlimited renewable energy potential, especially solar and wind power, and some experts say Lebanon could achieve 100% renewable energy by 2035 using existing technology, using wind, solar, and hydropower.

By 2024, major power companies will provide about Four hours India uses about 1 million kilowatts of electricity a day, and those who can afford it use heavily polluting private diesel generators to supplement their power supply, according to media reports. An informal, largely unregulated private diesel generator industry worth about $3 billion has sprung up across India.

Reliance on heavy fuel oil power plants and diesel generators creates severe air pollution, causes huge damage to the environment and has a significant impact on people’s health, potentially killing thousands of people each year in Lebanon, according to a study. Greenpeace Expected in 2020.

The energy minister pledged to increase state-provided electricity to eight hours a day, but energy experts told Human Rights Watch that the plan was unrealistic.

“All the current plans are unrealistic,” said Christina Abi Haidar, a lawyer and independent energy consultant. “They don’t address the current situation given the economic collapse. If we have fuel for generators, there will be no reform of the sector because private generator speculators are mostly politically affiliated cartels and they are doing a good business. Who will shut down a business that brings them money?”

Since the start of cross-border hostilities with Israel on October 8, 2023, Israel’s attacks on southern Lebanon have also caused serious damage to local electricity, water and telecommunications infrastructure. United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) said. On August 4, Israel launched an attack Destroyed A substation in Taibeh. Israeli shelling also Damaged On July 13, a fire broke out at a distribution substation in Marjeyoun, exacerbating power outages in the area.

In the face of the current fiscal and electricity crises, the Lebanese government should urgently scale up local and utility-scale renewable energy generation to reduce reliance on expensive and polluting fossil fuels, Human Rights Watch said.

Everyone has the right to an adequate standard of living, as set out in treaties binding Lebanon, such as the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). This right should also explicitly include access to sufficient, accessible, clean, and sustainable electricity, Human Rights Watch found. Lebanon should recognize the right to electricity and develop a strong strategy to implement it as soon as possible.

The Lebanese government should take immediate steps to ensure that all residents have access to a continuous, accessible, clean, and sustainable electricity supply from renewable sources. The government should implement the 2023 Distributed Renewable Energy Law and ensure accountability and transparency in the electricity sector by launching the ERA and auditing the state-run electricity company.

“The time for excuses and indecision is over,” Case said. “The government should no longer delay reforming the power sector to transition to a clean, sustainable electricity model powered by renewable energy.”