Lebanon electricity crisis: ‘Disaster in the making’

After years of stalling reforms, Lebanon is running out of time – and money – to keep the lights on.

Beirut, Lebanon – Lebanon’s electricity sector is again on the verge of total failure, and the government has once more continued to throw money at it, instead of fixing it. State-run producer Électricité du Liban (EDL) ran out of funds to purchase fuel, so the government issued a letter to the central bank for an advance from its withering reserves. A source from the energy ministry told Al Jazeera the advance is worth $200m. The central bank’s subsidies, estimated at more than $15m, are depleting rapidly, and Lebanon’s expensive and ineffective electricity sector is partly to blame.