Parliament Likely to Approve Electricity Bill on Thursday Despite Heated Debate

Speaker Nabih Berri will most probably refer the electricity draft law to parliament for approval on Thursday despite the failure of the joint parliamentary committees to approve the controversial $1.2 billion bill, his sources said.

The sources told As Safir daily that the next meeting of the committees on Monday will be the last no matter what results the MPs reach. Berri could call for a parliamentary session next Thursday to approve the bill, they said.

The committees’ first meeting on Thursday was marred by a heated debate between March 8 MPs and March 14-led opposition lawmakers. The dispute over the financial and technical aspects of the plan led to the postponement of the meeting until Monday.

While as expected March 14 MPs expressed surprise at the lack of technical and financial explanations on the implementation of the project, March 8 parliamentary sources told As Safir that opposition lawmakers sought to topple the plan and prevent the government from making an achievement even if it benefited all the Lebanese.

Last week, the cabinet endorsed the electricity bill following a compromise over the funding of the project that would lead to an additional 700 Megawatts of power to provide 24 hours of electricity to the Lebanese.

Energy Minister Jebran Bassil is expected to provide an answer to opposition MPs during Monday’s meeting but ministerial sources hinted to As Safir that March 14 was seeking to find negative aspects in the plan to score political gains.

The meeting would come as a ministerial committee tasked with amending the electricity law holds its first talks under Premier Najib Miqati on Tuesday. The law would lead to the establishment of a regulatory authority to supervise the electricity sector within three months.

The government will also witness an intense activity as it is scheduled to hold two sessions on Monday and Wednesday afternoons.