By Ebi Kesiena
Algeria has announced that it will begin supplying Lebanon with fuel to power its electricity stations, according to a statement released by Algerian state radio on Sunday.
This decision comes at a critical time for Lebanon, which is currently struggling with an acute energy crisis that has left its power plants without sufficient fuel, leading to widespread blackouts across the country.
Lebanon has faced severe electricity shortages for decades, with the country not having 24-hour power since the 1990s.
The ongoing crisis is compounded by chronic financial issues within Lebanon’s state electricity company, Electricité du Liban (EDL).
The company has been heavily reliant on government cash transfers to cover its significant operational losses, which have contributed tens of billions of dollars to Lebanon’s already enormous public debt.
On Saturday, EDL announced a complete nationwide power outage, including at vital facilities such as Beirut’s international airport. The company stated that the blackout was due to its depleted fuel reserves and warned that power would only be gradually restored once new fuel supplies were secured. At the time, EDL indicated that it was exploring options to acquire fuel, either through a swap agreement with Iraq or from alternative sources.
While the Algerian state radio’s statement confirmed the forthcoming fuel shipments to Lebanon, it did not provide specific details about the quantity of fuel to be supplied, the duration of the agreement, or the logistical arrangements involved.
