Complete Blackout in Lebanon as Two Biggest Power Stations Reportedly Shut Down Over Fuel Shortage

Lebanon's power outage caused by a shortage of fuel is set to continue for several days, Reuters reported on Saturday, citing official sources.

The two biggest power stations in Lebanon have stopped working due to a shortage of fuel, reportedly leaving the Middle Eastern country in complete darkness.

"The Lebanese power network completely stopped working at noon today, and it is unlikely that it will work until next Monday, or for several days", an official source told Reuters.

According to Sky News, energy production at the al Zahrani and the Deir Ammar power stations has dropped to below 200 megawatts.

Electricité du Liban (EDL), the country's electricity company, is reportedly trying to come up with a solution for the problem and manually restart the public network.

Lebanon's National News Agency (NNA) later reported that electricity was partially restored in some regions of the country due to supplies of fuel from emergency reserves. The power, it said, would "gradually" return in the coming hours.

EDL is trying to solve the issues in the absence of the EDL's national control centre, which was severely damaged in last year's deadly Beirut port explosion that claimed at least 218 lives, injured over 7,000, and left more than half of the capital's infrastructure damaged.

In late September, EDL warned about the risk of a complete power outage prompted by the fuel shortage, saying that it is out of options to tackle the issue.

Lebanon has suffered massive economic problems due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and the devastating explosion in the port of the capital Beirut. The crisis has prompted the shortage of fuel, further leading to a lack of gasoline for automobiles and diesel for power generators, causing outages to become the new normal in the country.

As Lebanon continues to be mired in a massive economic crisis, energy ministers from other Middle Eastern countries have reportedly agreed to deliver Egyptian gas and Jordanian electricity to the nation via Syria.