Electricity

Electricity is an essential commodity. Today, it has a negative impact on the balance of payments in terms of production costs and import bills. Electrical power is not supplied 24/7 through the national grid: 84% of housing units depend on privately owned local generators. Generator owners, under the protection of the political parties, manage distribution and allocation of neighborhoods. The topic of electricity must be approached from three main angles: its high production costs, the heavy losses incurred by Electricite du Liban, and the mafia weaving its network into an already-flawed structure. Regulation of consumption is one of the first decisions to be made. This can be achieved through setting complementary tariffs and financial provisions aimed at reducing consumption, limiting subsidies to the lowest consumption bracket, and making energy costs progressive, in addition to reducing energy costs for productive activities according to the size of their added value, net exports, and the number of jobs they provide. The second decision aims at diversifying energy production to mitigate environmental, technological, economic and political risks.