(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — Lebanon was hit with a massive power blackout since 9:20 a.m. Monday, due to a malfunction in the Zahrani power plant of Electricite Du Liban (EDL) utility company, according to local news media reports.
Failures at the Zahrani power plant are not uncommon, according to sources, but the control room that handles electricity distribution “is not accessible due to the labor strike by contract hourly employees.”
Moving the central control room to another location has, he said, made the task of restoring power more difficult.
While Lebanon has been experiencing intensive rationing for weeks, EDL has been warning against a possible total blackout if contract workers continue their occupation of the headquarters .
EDL Director General Kamal al-Hayek told Voice of Lebanon radio station that employees are working on fixing the sudden electricity disruption, but did not provide any details on when power will be restored.
Lebanon needs about 2500 MW of electric power, but the current output of the electric power stations is about 1600
About 2,000 contract daily workers have been observing a nationwide strike, demanding full-time employment and rejecting a decision issued by the company’s management to hire only the 897 of them that passed the employment test.
According to analysts EDL is a huge burden for Lebanon because its is heavily subsidized. Many of the contract hourly employees do not show up to work, or just clock in and leave.
The analysts stressed that EDL is an inefficient operation that should be privatized or shut down because it cannot continue to drag down the Lebanese economy.