Finance Ministry Distances Itself from EDL Warning on Rationing
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
The finance ministry denied on Tuesday that it failed to make allocations to state-owned Electricity du Liban, saying there was enough fuel oil for the firm to function and not to impose power cuts.
“We never delayed opening Lines of Credit … fuel and gas are available,” the ministry said in a statement.
“If EDL is having other problems, such as maintenance, then the ministry has nothing to do with that,” it said.
The ministry opened last week Lines of Credit worth 129 million dollars and intends to allocate another 45 million dollars to provide the needed energy until the end of the year, the statement added.
The ministry said the EDL's accusations were part of an “organized campaign” against it, a day after caretaker Public Works Minister Ghazi Aridi slammed it for causing the floods in the streets of Beirut and its suburbs last week.
Officials at EDL said Monday that there could be further electricity rationing in Lebanon over a two-week delay in payment for fuel oil by the ministry.
The delay led to a postponement in unloading the fuel to the power stations due to the bad weather and high waves, the officials said.
But they said the Lebanese would avoid the tough rationing in the next few days if the company was able to unload the fuel on Tuesday.
The EDL warning came as the country braces for a storm that meteorologists say will bring snow to areas that lie 500 meters above sea level on Wednesday.
"Alexa" is forecast to bring several days of rain in lower altitudes and a steep drop in temperature.
As the storm looms, heating resources are needed for households to warm their homes.
But the state-run company said Wednesday that it will take a series of measures to increase power generation during the storm.
Electricity rationing was sharply reduced lately when two Turkish power-generating ships were leased to provide a total output of 270 MW.
10 December 2013, 14:24
23
And you bastards call yourselves a goverment what a joke these politicians are the problem of lebanon not israel, syria, or anything just the politicians pack of criminals
10 December 2013, 15:51
21
first you guys are not paying for anything, since you live in israel and in the US
second, benzo, thanks for taking the mask off, i always knew you were a sectarian POS (point of sale)
and third, the bills problem is all over lebanon, in every poor area, so stop cherry picking where you point your dirty fingers because akkar is top of the list.
10 December 2013, 18:54
11
no benzona, i dont know who you're referring to but that doesn't sound very patriotic at all.
i support HA, whose men fight hostile and armed terrorists massing at our border at the peril of their lives, do not indulge in sectarian hate-filled speech, and live by a moral code that forbids them to kill innocents.
you, on the other hand, support foreign and foreign-sponsored mercenaries, head-cutters and religious extremists who threatened your country, fired rockets on it, blew up booby trapped cars in its cities, targeted your army and recruit underprivileged youths to make them throw grenades at their neighbors. all this from the safety or wherever the hell you're hiding.
that's what you call patriotic?
10 December 2013, 14:46
21
To the youth of lebanon like that great rolling stones song time is on my side when these old criminals are gone the youth of today will rebuild our beloved country.
10 December 2013, 15:00
22
@ watan I doubt it very much. Most of the youth have the same mentality as their parents. Lebanon is doomed with war, hate, and sectarian mentality.
10 December 2013, 16:01
21
@_mowaten_
MP Mohammad Raad must be sooooo proud of you. No doubt you're one of the top students in his class.
11 December 2013, 10:04
10
First the finance ministry distances itself from the flooded roads issue, now it distances itself from the electricity rationning issue.....
i agree that gebran bassil is a thief, but it is impossible that everybody is wrong and the finance ministry is right and has nothing to do with all of this.
