Egypt Ends Electricity Export to Lebanon

In the face of massive power cuts in Egypt, the government in Cairo has decided to end electricity exports to Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Libya:

The contracts signed with these countries stipulate that the power supply will be from surpluses during off-peak periods, Aktham Abul Ela, the ministry of electricity’s undersecretary told Al Hayat.

The article doesn’t say exactly when the supply was cut which could mean the electricity situation may get worse in Lebanon within the next 24 hours. Power cuts have been a chronic issue this summer from Sharjah to Saudi thanks to record high temperatures and major power drains in part to air conditioning systems.

The region's power grid is under immense pressure - with power cuts across Egypt, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and the UAE

If you are interest to see what exactly Electricity Minister Bassil has planned for the next 4 years, then you can check out yesterday’s post.

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Gebran Bassil’s Power Plan Detailed

I just received via Electricity Minister Gebran Bassil’s official fan page on Twitter his plan (the executive summary of the plan) to reform the electricity sector in Lebanon. The 3-page document is in Arabic however, you can use Google to translate (it does a pretty decent job). Here are some highlights from the document:

• EDL should start recording profits by 2015 (I find that quite a daunting task).
• By 2015, Lebanon should have a available capacity of 50%. According to Bassil’s estimates, Lebanon will be consuming 2500MW while producing 5000MW. This will then be followed by production capacity increases of 7-15% annually.
• Work should begin immediately on a 1500MW power plant as an IPP (independent power plant) where the private sector will contribute to its construction. A draft law to allow IPPs is ready.
• Building additional dams (at least 125MW production each) and wind farms as well as to encourage waste-to-energy and geothermal power.
• As for power transmission, remove the high-voltage lines over Mansourieh (a popular action for the residents of the area) and complete connection to the Arab grid.
• Lebanon’s primary energy source will be gas procured from the region (Turkey, Russia, Syria) and possible directly off Lebanon’s coast.
• Study the possibility of developing solar power plant as well as net metering to encourage the private sector to use renewable energy and transfer excess power back into the national grid (i.e. the government will pay you for your support).
• Launching energy saving laws such as encouraging the use of CFL bulbs, solar water heaters, and public light saving mechanisms.
• Gradual increase in electricity tariffs in line with an increase in production capacity (i.e. as you receive a more consistent power supply, the price will increase) as well as low tariff timings (for instance, in the middle of the night).

As you can see, a lot needs to be done and so far things aren’t looking too good as the document mentions increasing power production this summer by 250MW which clearly didn’t happen.

Bassil's ambitious plan has considerable circuits to clear before we see the light.

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EDL: Some Areas More Equal Than Others

With record high temperatures and far too many people in the country at the moment, it was no surprise that capacity at our decaying power stations would collapse from a state of utter uselessness to complete non-existence. But don’t you worry, Electricite du Liban (EDL) has prepared rationing schedules:

“Demand is exceeding the maximum production capacity of all water and thermal stations and causing an overload, which is leading to an unstable power supply in most Lebanese regions,” the statement said, adding that importing electricity from Syria and Egypt has been halted due to the pressure on Egyptian, Jordanian and Syrian power stations.

The statement then explained that severe rationing was a necessary decision in this case, even during the night.

[...]

“EDL sympathizes with the people, whether in Akkar or in other regions, and asks them to understand the situation without resorting to negative reactions that only make things worse,” the statement added. It said that it treated all people equally, not differentiating between areas.

We all know that’s not true; even EDL acknowledges in the same press release that it discriminates when it comes to rationing power:

However, it said the capital was exempt from this [severe rationing] because it followed a special rationing system that did not exceed three hours per day.

So just to paraphrase, EDL does not discriminate when rationing powers among regions but does discriminate. Isn’t it great to know that we have such an honest company powering Lebanon into the 19th century.

EDL: Discriminate power rationing

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Another Fund for Politicians to Pocket

UPDATE: A Purple Monkey has rightly pointed out that the plan to reach 12% energy production through renewable means is scheduled for 2020 and not 2012. The source where I had obtained the information from seems to have made an error. You can find the correct (and more sensible) target here. Though my attitude towards “funds” remains unchanged.

Arabic Text

The government plans to launch a fund to tackle environmental issues:

“The state loses up to 550 million dollars (365 million euros) to pollution annually, 100 million of which is due to climate change,” Environment Minister Mohammed Rahhal said at a conference in Beirut.
The government, which for the first time plans to start a fund for environmental issues, has concrete plans to fight climate change, he added.

A “fund” is a just a nice name for a budget black hole, much like the Fund for the Development of South Lebanon and the Central Fund for the Displaced, where money goes in and not much comes out.

Of course, what grand idea would you have if it doesn’t preclude a preposterous plan:

“We aim for 12 percent of Lebanon’s energy to be produced through alternative sources by the year 2012,” he said, adding Lebanon should capitalise on the wide availability of wind, water and sun.

That’s in two years! You really think Lebanon can pull of 12% energy from renewable sources when we’ve been suffering power outages for over 20 years? Well actually, the 12% goal should get easier as we move forward since our production capacity is falling, so maybe 12% could be achievable in two years when we are producing half the amount we are able to produce today.

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EDL All Charged Up

It appears that Electricite du Liban (EDL) will finally take action against customers that fail to pay their bills:

EDL has a launched a web site which lists the names and addresses of all those who have failed to pay their dues to the company. The area covers Beirut, Sheyah and Antelias regions. According to a statement recently released by the company, EDL will be compelled to cut off power as of next month on all those who failed to pay their bills on time.

Oh, and EDL will also be filing lawsuits against the parties involved. Will that change anything? Probably not. Plus, the large amounts of defaulters will ensure that the Lebanese judicial system will grind to a halt. But my favorite thing of all has to be EDL’s “website“.

If you haven’t seen it, you must take a look at it. It seems to have been designed by a first-year web design student. Its horrible and you really can’t get any useful information from it. Even their “name and shame” list is impossible to get to; requiring such specific knowledge of someone’s electricity bill that it really questions the whole point of posting the information online. I mean, if I am not paying my bills, I will probably know that and wouldn’t need a website to confirm my status.

The EDL Website: Hopeless, Just Like the Company (www.edl.gov.lb)

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