From two hours of power failure to two hours of power supply every day, why is this country in an energy crisis
2021-10-15
On October 9, Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, fell into darkness, the traffic lights on the road could not work normally, and a small number of cars had to pass through the intersection carefully.
At present, there are different degrees of energy supply crises in many parts of the world. Britain has encountered a shortage of gasoline, and the coal-fired power plants in India have bottomed out. However, the severity can not be compared with Lebanon.
Lebanon's state power company said on the 9th that a power plant in the north of the country had been closed on the 8th because of fuel shortage, and then another power plant in the south of the country stopped power supply. The closure of the two power stations directly affected the stability of the national power grid in Lebanon, resulting in the complete interruption of power supply.
In an interview with reporters, Niu song, a researcher at the Middle East Research Institute of Shanghai Foreign Studies University, said that although the power outage is not big news in many Middle East countries, including Lebanon, the Lebanese people are still caught off guard by a nationwide power outage.
For the deep-seated reasons for the blackout, Niu Song told reporters that Lebanon is a country with relatively short energy reserves in the Middle East. In addition, it is more difficult to obtain energy for power generation due to the serious economic crisis, sharp currency devaluation and shrinking foreign exchange reserves in recent years. Although the new Lebanese government has taken some emergency measures to alleviate the pressure of fuel shortage in power plants, it is still difficult to achieve the purpose of "treating the root cause".
National blackout
In fact, before the national blackout, most residential houses in Lebanon could only get electricity for two or three hours a day. The Lebanese people once said to themselves that to talk about the changes in life over the years, it is from the original power outage of two hours a day to the current power supply of two hours a day.
However, soon the basic power supply for these two hours could not be ensured. The Lebanese national power company issued a warning in September that due to the depletion of fuel reserves, there will be a complete power outage throughout Lebanon. The company announced at that time: "as the situation has exceeded the scope of its own control, the company can no longer provide minimum power supply."
The Lebanese state power company is not alarmist. After burning the last stored fuel on the 8th, the two major power plants in the north and south of Lebanon shut down successively, accounting for about 40% of the power generation in Lebanon. With their closure, the power grid across Lebanon collapsed.
The Lebanese state electricity company said it was trying to import fuel from Iraq, and the latest batch of fuel was expected to arrive in a few days. On the evening of September 9, the Lebanese army took out the reserve fuel and sent it to the north and South power plants in two and a half, which can ensure the power supply of Lebanon in the next three days.
According to the Lebanese state news agency on the 10th, the Lebanese national power grid has resumed normal operation, and the power supply has returned to the level before the power outage. This means that the Lebanese people can use electricity for another two hours a day. The Lebanese Ministry of energy also said that the central bank had approved a loan of US $100 million for the import of fuel.
Due to the "unreliability" of the public power grid, many Lebanese people rely on diesel generators for power generation. However, in the case of lack of fuel, the operation cost of these generators is also higher and higher, and the electricity price may be more than 10 times higher than before, which is difficult for the people to afford.
Lebanon crisis
Due to the unprecedented financial crisis, resulting in a shortage of US dollars, Lebanon is unable to import fuel, medicine and food to meet the basic needs of the people. Fuel shortages have sometimes prevented hospitals from performing operations and forced delays.
Facing the power crisis, some countries said they would lend a helping hand to Lebanon. The energy ministers of Jordan, Syria and Lebanon reached an agreement in Amman, the capital of Jordan, on the 6th, agreeing to transmit Jordanian power to Lebanon through the Syrian power grid, so as to help Lebanon get rid of the energy shortage crisis as soon as possible.
During his visit to Lebanon on the 7th, Iranian Foreign Minister Abdullah Hyan also said that Iran is willing to help Lebanon rebuild Beirut port and build two power plants for it within 18 months.
As early as October 2019, Lebanese people took to the streets to protest against the long-term mismanagement, corruption and political deadlock of the government. The epidemic has pushed the Lebanese economy to the brink of collapse, with high unemployment and increasingly prominent social contradictions.
In August 2020, the then Lebanese Prime Minister diab announced the collective resignation of the government and became a caretaker government due to the explosion in Beirut port. In October of the same year, Saad Hariri was authorized to form a new government. Due to differences with President ORN on the number of ministers, candidates and allocation of important ministerial positions in the new government, Hariri has not completed the formation of a cabinet. In July 2021, Hariri announced that he would give up forming a cabinet, and Mikati was appointed as the new prime minister.
On September 10, after nearly a year of government deadlock, Lebanon finally formed a new government. Mika proposed to be the new prime minister, which made it possible for Lebanon to solve a series of current crises. However, Niu Song told reporters that although Lebanon finally established a new government with difficulty, it is difficult to completely avoid the structural defects of its regime. In addition, the new government has been established for a short time, which makes it more powerless to deal with a series of problems such as the current national blackout.
The United Nations released a relief emergency plan in Beirut, the Lebanese capital, on the 1st, which will provide necessary support to 1.1 million vulnerable groups in Lebanon, such as women, children and refugees.
On the same day, najat Rushdie, the United Nations resident coordinator and humanitarian coordinator in Lebanon, said that Lebanon was once considered a medium and high-income country, but now 78% of Lebanese people live below the poverty line, and more and more Lebanese families cannot afford food, medical care, water and electricity, Internet, fuel and education.
In the latest edition of Lebanon's economic monitoring report released in June, the world bank said that if the economic crises around the world since the middle of the 19th century are sorted, Lebanon can be ranked in the top ten or even the top three according to the severity of the current economic crisis in Lebanon.
At present, there are different degrees of energy supply crises in many parts of the world. Britain has encountered a shortage of gasoline, and the coal-fired power plants in India have bottomed out. However, the severity can not be compared with Lebanon.
Lebanon's state power company said on the 9th that a power plant in the north of the country had been closed on the 8th because of fuel shortage, and then another power plant in the south of the country stopped power supply. The closure of the two power stations directly affected the stability of the national power grid in Lebanon, resulting in the complete interruption of power supply.
In an interview with reporters, Niu song, a researcher at the Middle East Research Institute of Shanghai Foreign Studies University, said that although the power outage is not big news in many Middle East countries, including Lebanon, the Lebanese people are still caught off guard by a nationwide power outage.
For the deep-seated reasons for the blackout, Niu Song told reporters that Lebanon is a country with relatively short energy reserves in the Middle East. In addition, it is more difficult to obtain energy for power generation due to the serious economic crisis, sharp currency devaluation and shrinking foreign exchange reserves in recent years. Although the new Lebanese government has taken some emergency measures to alleviate the pressure of fuel shortage in power plants, it is still difficult to achieve the purpose of "treating the root cause".
National blackout
In fact, before the national blackout, most residential houses in Lebanon could only get electricity for two or three hours a day. The Lebanese people once said to themselves that to talk about the changes in life over the years, it is from the original power outage of two hours a day to the current power supply of two hours a day.
However, soon the basic power supply for these two hours could not be ensured. The Lebanese national power company issued a warning in September that due to the depletion of fuel reserves, there will be a complete power outage throughout Lebanon. The company announced at that time: "as the situation has exceeded the scope of its own control, the company can no longer provide minimum power supply."
The Lebanese state power company is not alarmist. After burning the last stored fuel on the 8th, the two major power plants in the north and south of Lebanon shut down successively, accounting for about 40% of the power generation in Lebanon. With their closure, the power grid across Lebanon collapsed.
The Lebanese state electricity company said it was trying to import fuel from Iraq, and the latest batch of fuel was expected to arrive in a few days. On the evening of September 9, the Lebanese army took out the reserve fuel and sent it to the north and South power plants in two and a half, which can ensure the power supply of Lebanon in the next three days.
According to the Lebanese state news agency on the 10th, the Lebanese national power grid has resumed normal operation, and the power supply has returned to the level before the power outage. This means that the Lebanese people can use electricity for another two hours a day. The Lebanese Ministry of energy also said that the central bank had approved a loan of US $100 million for the import of fuel.
Due to the "unreliability" of the public power grid, many Lebanese people rely on diesel generators for power generation. However, in the case of lack of fuel, the operation cost of these generators is also higher and higher, and the electricity price may be more than 10 times higher than before, which is difficult for the people to afford.
Lebanon crisis
Due to the unprecedented financial crisis, resulting in a shortage of US dollars, Lebanon is unable to import fuel, medicine and food to meet the basic needs of the people. Fuel shortages have sometimes prevented hospitals from performing operations and forced delays.
Facing the power crisis, some countries said they would lend a helping hand to Lebanon. The energy ministers of Jordan, Syria and Lebanon reached an agreement in Amman, the capital of Jordan, on the 6th, agreeing to transmit Jordanian power to Lebanon through the Syrian power grid, so as to help Lebanon get rid of the energy shortage crisis as soon as possible.
During his visit to Lebanon on the 7th, Iranian Foreign Minister Abdullah Hyan also said that Iran is willing to help Lebanon rebuild Beirut port and build two power plants for it within 18 months.
As early as October 2019, Lebanese people took to the streets to protest against the long-term mismanagement, corruption and political deadlock of the government. The epidemic has pushed the Lebanese economy to the brink of collapse, with high unemployment and increasingly prominent social contradictions.
In August 2020, the then Lebanese Prime Minister diab announced the collective resignation of the government and became a caretaker government due to the explosion in Beirut port. In October of the same year, Saad Hariri was authorized to form a new government. Due to differences with President ORN on the number of ministers, candidates and allocation of important ministerial positions in the new government, Hariri has not completed the formation of a cabinet. In July 2021, Hariri announced that he would give up forming a cabinet, and Mikati was appointed as the new prime minister.
On September 10, after nearly a year of government deadlock, Lebanon finally formed a new government. Mika proposed to be the new prime minister, which made it possible for Lebanon to solve a series of current crises. However, Niu Song told reporters that although Lebanon finally established a new government with difficulty, it is difficult to completely avoid the structural defects of its regime. In addition, the new government has been established for a short time, which makes it more powerless to deal with a series of problems such as the current national blackout.
The United Nations released a relief emergency plan in Beirut, the Lebanese capital, on the 1st, which will provide necessary support to 1.1 million vulnerable groups in Lebanon, such as women, children and refugees.
On the same day, najat Rushdie, the United Nations resident coordinator and humanitarian coordinator in Lebanon, said that Lebanon was once considered a medium and high-income country, but now 78% of Lebanese people live below the poverty line, and more and more Lebanese families cannot afford food, medical care, water and electricity, Internet, fuel and education.
In the latest edition of Lebanon's economic monitoring report released in June, the world bank said that if the economic crises around the world since the middle of the 19th century are sorted, Lebanon can be ranked in the top ten or even the top three according to the severity of the current economic crisis in Lebanon.
Source: First Finance