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Lebanon Hikes Electricity Tariffs For The First Time in 30 Years
Lebanon’s state electricity provider, Electricite du Liban, is poised to hike tariffs this coming month, finally abandoning the “official” 1,500 L.L/USD peg in favor of a new pricing scheme.
According to L’Orient Today , the company was charging between 30.14 to 195.91 L.L per kWh, the new prices being 10 cents (USD) per kWh for the first 100, and 27 cents per kWh after that, according to Reuters.
It is still unclear which price point will be used to calculate the new bills, with options ranging from the updated 15,000 official exchange rate to the constantly updated sayrafa rate. EdL bills are also notoriously late to arrive, with people receiving their bills almost on a year’s delay.
The government believes this change in tariff will make EdL’s operations more viable, with up to 8-10 hours of electricity per day projected under the new pricing arrangement.
Whether Lebanon’s ailing population will be able to afford these 8 to 10 hours is another story, with inflation rates and currency deteriorations surpassing any hikes in minimum wage. But existing private generators have already been charging exorbitant fees for coverage, so for many this might be a simple change in who the exorbitant amount is given to.
According to L’Orient Today , the company was charging between 30.14 to 195.91 L.L per kWh, the new prices being 10 cents (USD) per kWh for the first 100, and 27 cents per kWh after that, according to Reuters.
Lebanon state power company EDL raised the price it charges for electricity for first time since the 1990s on Tuesday – EDL spox to @Reuters:
— Timour Azhari (@timourazhari) November 1, 2022
– 10 dollar cents per kWh for first 100 kWh consumed
– 27 cents per kWh after that.
(There is still very little power on the grid).
It is still unclear which price point will be used to calculate the new bills, with options ranging from the updated 15,000 official exchange rate to the constantly updated sayrafa rate. EdL bills are also notoriously late to arrive, with people receiving their bills almost on a year’s delay.
The government believes this change in tariff will make EdL’s operations more viable, with up to 8-10 hours of electricity per day projected under the new pricing arrangement.
Whether Lebanon’s ailing population will be able to afford these 8 to 10 hours is another story, with inflation rates and currency deteriorations surpassing any hikes in minimum wage. But existing private generators have already been charging exorbitant fees for coverage, so for many this might be a simple change in who the exorbitant amount is given to.
