Rising power cuts threaten livelihoods and lives

LEBANESE are buying candles in bulk, turning to traditional kerosene lamps and throwing away rotten food because of prolonged power cuts that plunged the country into darkness this week, adding to the gloom of a deepening economic crisis.

The country’s electricity company and the powerful operators of generators had been rationing power since late June as fuel supplies dwindle amid uncertainty over the next shipment.

“At home I can live with the candle, but in my clinic what can I do?” said Salim Abi Saleh, a gynaecologist and head of the physicians union in the northern city of Tripoli.

Fuel imports are subsidised, but lack of foreign currency was making it harder to secure resources. Government officials have promised new fuel shipments. But residents in parts of Lebanon reported nearly 20 hours of power cuts since last week.

Some main streets have been lit only by commercial billboards, while others were left in pitch darkness.

Flickering lights from candles were seen from windows, and Beirut’s bustling nightlife has been cut short because of power outages and a dire economic crisis.

In a worrying development, private hospitals in Lebanon yesterday said that they would reduce operations to emergency procedures only, including kidney dialysis and cancer treatments, because of dwindling resources, including fuel.

A day before, Lebanon’s main hospital treating Covid-19 patients, Rafik Hariri University hospital, said it was turning off air-conditioning units in its administrative area and in certain corridors to reduce power use and ensure patients remained a priority.

The hospital said it was operating at 85% capacity.

The summer months in Beirut are known for high levels of humidity, so no electricity meant more people were sleeping on balconies and cool floors.

People have stocked up on candles, buying in bulk. Some artisans told local media there was a rush on buying traditional kerosene lamps.

Lebanon has for decades struggled with power cuts and a huge public debt for the national electricity company that racks up a deficit of nearly $2billion (R34bn) a year.

Lebanon has largely relied on fuel shipped in on floating boats from neighbouring countries and imported diesel for the powerful generators cartel that provides for the incomplete national grid.

But the rationing has been so severe that residents reported only a couple of hours of electricity a day in some neighbourhoods. Generator providers shut down their machines to ration existing fuel.

“There is no electricity. And the generator runs for two hours and then cuts for an hour. We have to throw out half of our products,” said Rabie al-kardali, owner of a traditional beans and hummus restaurant.

Saleh, the gynaecologist said he stored fuel that could last him for days, a habit learned from days of power cuts during the civil war that ended in 1990. “We are now living week by week, but how long can that last?”

Government officials are mired in corrupt fuel deals and a much-coveted reform of the electricity sector has been elusive. Meanwhile, generator providers have hiked their prices, while some of the fuel is being smuggled into Syria, whetr it is more lucrative.