Hamadeh Says MPs to Question Cabinet over Electricity Decision
MP Marwan Hamadeh revealed on Friday that the electricity crisis will be discussed during the parliamentary session set to hold a general discussion in April to assess the governments’ performance.
Hamadeh told An Nahar newspaper that the lawmakers will call for a vote of confidence on Energy Minister Jebran Bassil for “violating laws approved a couple of months ago but weren’t implemented.”
The head of the parliamentary energy committee, MP Mohammed Qabbani, slammed the cabinet’s decision concerning the electricity crisis, noting that it “is illegal because it violates the electricity law that calls for the establishment of the electricity regulatory body.”
“Any decision taken in the absence of the electricity regulatory body is illegal, and the cabinet will be held responsible through all the possible democratic means,” Qabbani told An Nahar.
The cabinet agreed Wednesday to lease the power-generating vessels for a maximum of three years to produce 270 megawatts and to construct power plants of 1,500-megawatt capacity.
Lebanon has long suffered from electricity outages because of shortages at its power plants whose maximum capacity is less than 1,500 megawatts but the country’s actual need exceeds 2,300 megawatts.
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