Electricité du Liban (EDL) announced the initiation of critical procedures to address Lebanon's ongoing electricity crisis, saying it will ensure about 4 hours of electricity supply to households and 24/7 supply to essential facilities such as the  airport, ports, water pumps, and sewage facilities.

The announcement comes after laboratory tests conducted by Bureau Veritas in Dubai confirmed that the gas oil shipment anchored off the Zahrani power plant meets the required contractual specifications. This verification prompted the monitoring company, commissioned by the Ministry of Energy and Water's Directorate General of Oil, to issue a discharge permit.

Starting the morning of August 30, 2024, EDL began unloading the designated portion of the shipment for the Zahrani plant. Following this, the remaining portion of the shipment will be transported to the Deir Ammar plant for unloading into its storage tanks.

EDL's statement confirmed that it will gradually restart the steam unit at the Zahrani plant starting this evening. This will be followed by the activation of the gas and steam units at the Deir Ammar plant, alongside hydroelectric production. The combined efforts are expected to restore approximately 400 MW of thermal power and around 65 MW of hydroelectric power, adding a total of about 465 MW to the electrical grid. Consequently, the electricity supply will gradually increase from this evening.

To manage the gas oil reserves prudently, EDL will maintain this production capacity temporarily, ensuring about 4 hours of electricity supply to the general public and 24/7 supply to essential facilities such as airports, ports, water pumps, and sewage facilities. This measure will remain in place until the regular supply of gas oil shipments is restored by the Ministry of Energy.

EDL will also be formally notified of the final resolution with Iraq by the relevant official authorities, which will influence EDL's future production policies, the statement added.