Electricity Crisis Likely to Worsen as Bassil Calls for More Rationing in Beirut
The power crisis topped the discussions of cabinet ministers during a session held at Baabda palace on Monday as Energy Minister Jebran Bassil urged the Lebanese that are paying their electricity bills and suffering from severe rationing to resort to demonstrations.
Ministerial sources told An Nahar daily published Tuesday that the cabinet agreed to give priority to the electricity problem and urged Bassil to resolve the crisis and the rationing that has affected most regions except for Beirut.
Angry residents continued to block roads with burning tires. The latest incidents took place on the old Beirut airport and the Naameh-Damour roads on Monday night.
Bassil is insisting to make Beirut similar to other areas to ease the rationing. “There can’t be 21-hour electricity in Beirut and 11 in Sin el-Fil,” he said in remarks published Tuesday.
During a press conference he held before the cabinet session, Bassil urged “all those who pay their electricity bills and don’t get enough (power) and respect Electricite du Liban … to resort to the street to demand their rights.”
He reiterated that the sector was in dire need of investments.
Bassil blamed the government for procrastinating in the implementation of six major projects, among them the leasing of power-generating ships as a temporary measure to compensate for the low electricity supply.
He lamented that Lebanon is in need of 2,500 megawatts of electricity while the current production is only 1,500 MW.
But As Safir daily said even if the government decides to lease the ships, the process requires a six-month period, which means that Lebanon would continue to suffer from severe power cuts during the summer season.
In his remarks published Tuesday, Bassil thanked Speaker Nabih Berri for urging him to reveal the identity of those who were allegedly putting sticks in the wheels of his plans.
He said he took Berri’s advice and held a press conference to explain the reasons behind the electricity crisis.
But members of the March 14 opposition told al-Liwaa newspaper that the energy minister was trying to build his popularity ahead of the 2013 parliamentary elections.
He is “turning his rage towards the country’s capital that hosts most people and all institutions,” MP Mohammed Qabbani said.
Another March 14 lawmaker, Ammar Houri, told the daily that Beirut is the hub of the economy and tourism, stressing that Bassil can’t cut electricity from the capital.
| Copyright © 2012 Naharnet.com. All Rights Reserved. | https://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/27622 |