Lebanon's State power utility, Électricité du Liban (EDL), has warned that it is facing more than $410 million in losses and additional costs, as higher fuel prices, war damage and declining bill collections threaten its ability to maintain electricity supplies through the end of 2026.

According to Nidaa Al-Watan newspaper, the figures come from an official document submitted by EDL to the relevant authorities outlining its financial position and its ability to continue supplying power for the rest of the year. The document describes a combination of sharply higher fuel costs, declining collections, war-related damage and depleted cash reserves. 

The crisis highlights how Hezbollah's unilateral decision to become involved in the wider regional conflict has translated into an economic burden for a country that was only beginning to emerge from years of financial collapse.

The wider conflict disrupted energy markets and shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, while fighting inside Lebanon damaged infrastructure and reduced electricity collections. The consequences have ultimately landed on state institutions and, by extension, on Lebanese consumers.

Fuel shock drives the losses

EDL's 2026 budget and cost-recovery plan had been prepared on the assumption that gasoil would cost between $680 and $690 per metric ton.

After the regional crisis erupted, the price jumped to about $1,500 per ton before falling to around $1,300. That still represents an increase of roughly 88% to 91% over the benchmark used to prepare the utility's original plan.

The impact is particularly stark when measured across fuel shipments.

EDL expects to receive 11 gasoil shipments, six of which have already been delivered and five of which are expected between August and October. At the prices assumed before the crisis, the shipments would have cost approximately $246.23 million.

At the new prices, however, their actual and projected cost has risen to about $460.69 million.

That creates an additional burden of $214.46 million. According to the calculations in the EDL document, that difference alone would have been enough to finance roughly seven additional months of fuel shipments at the prices originally used in the utility's 2026 plan. 

The pressure comes as EDL continues to rely heavily on imported fuel. In January, for example, a government tender sought about 60,000 metric tons of gasoil for the utility's needs.

Electricity is being sold below its generation cost

EDL is also losing money on every unit of electricity it sells.

The report says EDL receives roughly 19 to 20 cents per kilowatt-hour, while the cost of generating that electricity alone has risen to about 26 cents per kilowatt-hour.

That figure does not include operating and maintenance expenses, transmission and distribution costs or technical losses.

In practical terms, EDL is therefore running an estimated operating deficit of 6 to 7 cents for every kilowatt-hour it sells.

The resulting pressure has exhausted the liquidity and reserves accumulated by the utility. Those reserves stood at $140.64 million in early February 2026, according to the document.

War damage and lost collections

The financial damage is not limited to fuel.

Renewed military operations inside Lebanon have reduced electricity collections, particularly in areas affected by fighting in the south, the Bekaa Valley and Beirut's southern suburbs.

EDL calculates $50.66 million in lost collections linked to the two most recent wars that are not covered by the relevant exemption law.

It also records $114.98 million in damage resulting from the wars of 2024 and 2025.

Together, the lost collections and physical damage amount to approximately $165.64 million.

The utility also reports another $30.33 million in lost collections resulting from an exemption law adopted for people affected by Israeli attacks.

That brings the total decline in collections from the exemptions and the wars to $80.99 million.

Who pays for the exemptions?

The figures raise a broader question about how the state finances social assistance during wartime.

EDL is a public institution with its own legal personality and financial and administrative independence. When the government exempts certain subscribers from paying electricity bills because they have been affected by war or economic hardship, the resulting loss is effectively absorbed by a utility that is already struggling to recover the cost of producing electricity.

The EDL document argues that the utility should instead be compensated by the Treasury for the value of those exemptions.

If the State wants to shoulder the cost of assisting war-affected households, it could allocate money directly through the national budget, use reconstruction and relief appropriations, or channel funds through institutions such as the Council for the South or the Higher Relief Council where legally appropriate.

Leaving the cost on the books of financially independent public institutions, by contrast, risks obscuring the actual cost of the state's social policies rather than properly financing them.

Another $329 million in additional costs

EDL records $329.44 million in additional expenditure.

That figure essentially combines the $214.46 million increase in fuel costs with the $114.98 million in war-related damage.

When combined with the $80.99 million decline in collections, the figures show the scale of the financial shock confronting the utility.

The problem is especially serious because EDL was already operating within a fragile electricity system after years of underinvestment, financial losses and fuel shortages. The utility remains the country's main electricity provider, and fuel availability directly determines how much power it can generate. 

A renewed risk of power rationing

EDL says it urgently needs about $50 million in outstanding payments owed by public-sector institutions, in addition to approximately $12 million a month to cover its current obligations.

The utility says its outstanding receivables from the public sector have exceeded $250 million.

It is also asking authorities to explore the possibility of obtaining gasoil donations from friendly and allied countries.

Without additional funding, EDL says it may have to reduce electricity generation and supply according to the liquidity available to it.