2021 Lebanese blackout
The 2021 Lebanese blackout was a power outage in Lebanon that started on 9 October 2021, after two the country’s power plants shut down when they ran out of diesel fuel. The two power stations provided 40% of Lebanon's electricity. Due to this, the power grid stopped working.[1] The outage ended on 10 October, 24 hours after the start.[2]
Background
The collapse of the banking system and the subsequent recession caused the Lebanese pound to lose over 90% of its value, leaving the government unable to import fuel,[3] resulting in a general shortage of fuel in Lebanon, including for its electricity plants. This also meant that people could not run private fuel-powered generators.[1]
Outage
The power outage started on 9 October, after the Zahrani power station ran out of fuel. The day before, the Deir Ammar station had stopped running. With both of these plants shut down, power production could be no more than 270 megawatts, causing the grid to become severely unstable and stopped working at noon that day.[4][1] Power had not been expected to come back for several days, although that turned out to be wrong.[5]
On 10 October, Banque du Liban, Lebanon’s central bank, released $100 million in foreign currency to the Lebanese Energy Ministry to enable it to import fuel.[6] Also on that day, the Lebanese army delivered 6,000 kilolitres (1.6 million gallons) to each of the two power plants, and power was restored that day, after 24 hours of the blackout.[7] The fuel came from the army’s reserves.
Protests
Protests took place in Halba outside the offices of Électricité du Liban, the state-owned power company, as well as protesters blocking roads with burning tires in Tripoli.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d "Lebanon left without power as grid shuts down". BBC News. 2021-10-09. Retrieved 2021-10-10.
- ^ "Power returns to Lebanon after 24-hour blackout". BBC News. 2021-10-10. Retrieved 2021-10-11.
- ^ "Lebanon's national electricity grid collapses". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2021-10-10.
- ^ Press, The Associated. "Fuel shortage forces shutdown of Lebanon's main power plants". NBC News. Retrieved 2021-10-10.
- ^ Reuters (2021-10-09). "Lebanese power outage will last for several days - government official". Reuters. Retrieved 2021-10-10.
{{cite news}}:|last=has generic name (help) - ^ "Lebanon to receive $100 million to import fuel amid electricity crisis". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. Retrieved 2021-10-10.
- ^ "Lebanon electricity back online after army supplies fuel". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2021-10-11.