Except for Hospitals... Is Electricity Being Cut Off from the Public Sector?

Issued by the Board of Directors of the "Electricité du Liban" (EDL) authority, a statement contained a general warning about cutting off electricity, particularly from the public sector, emphasizing the activation of bill collection and campaigns to remove illegal connections.

Text of the statement: The statement read:

"Due to emergency circumstances and force majeure, under the exceptional conditions prevailing in Lebanon and the region—especially the unprecedented rise in oil product prices resulting from regional war consequences—global gas prices have approached /1500/ U.S. dollars per metric ton, while EDL had prepared its 2026 budget based on an estimated price of approximately /680/ U.S. dollars, representing a global increase ranging from 88% to 91%, exceeding the institution’s financial capacity to bear. This is a global issue affecting the oil sector and requires governmental intervention as a matter of force majeure, apart from the war’s impact on Lebanon, especially technical and non-technical losses and declining electricity bill collection rates across several areas, along with accumulated arrears from public administrations and public institutions—including water agencies, municipalities, and others—which have severely negatively impacted EDL’s finances and threaten the continuity of the public utility and the sustainable supply of electricity to citizens and vital public facilities nationwide.

Following multiple communications sent by EDL to relevant parties, the Board of Directors convened a special and emergency session this morning, August 14, 2026, at the invitation of the Board Chairman and General Manager, adopting a series of exceptional resolutions aimed at addressing these extraordinary circumstances, including:

- A five-working-day grace period starting Monday, August 17, 2026, for all public administrations and institutions—including water agencies, municipalities, and all public sector individuals—with the exception of government hospitals—to settle their outstanding electricity bills and arrears to the authority; after this period, electricity will be cut off for those failing to comply within the specified timeframe.

- Activating communication with responsible parties regarding the initiation of electricity bill collection in Palestinian refugee camps within one month from this date.

- Re-activating campaigns to remove illegal connections to the grid, supported by security forces and coordinated with competent judicial authorities.

- Accelerating and enhancing the collection of overdue electricity bills, establishing a mechanism for this purpose in coordination with distribution service providers.

- Reducing electricity supply hours in areas with high non-technical losses where bill collection rates are low, while concentrating supply hours at the current feasible minimum in areas recording the lowest levels of non-technical losses.

While stressing the necessity for public administrations, institutions—including water agencies—and all public sector individuals to immediately pay their electricity bills upon due date, as well as any accumulated arrears, failure to do so will compel the authority to disconnect electricity from defaulting entities, except for government hospitals for humanitarian reasons,

the authority also warns against continued illegal network encroachments, stating that violators will bear full legal and financial responsibility for such actions,

this statement serves as a general warning to all subscribers and offenders, including public administrations, institutions, water agencies, municipalities, and all public sector individuals, while reserving the authority’s right to take all necessary measures as permitted by law and regulation.