Beirut, July 6 (IANS) Hundreds protested near Lebanon’s state power utility Electricite Du Liban (EDL) against increased power cuts in the country.
Protesters on Sunday highlighted the increased corruption and money squandering at EDL, vowing escalatory measures as peaceful demonstrations were not reaping positive results, Xinhua news agency quoted the Elnashra, an online daily, as saying.
Lebanon has seen an increase in power cuts from three hours to about 14 hours a day in the past two weeks because of the shortage in fuel used to operate the power plants.
On July 1, Energy Minister Raymond Ghajar attributed the lack in fuel to the problem that supply companies’ shipments do not meet the specifications, according to the National News Agency.
For years, successive Lebanese governments have failed to build power stations to solve the electricity problem in Lebanon.
The Lebanese cabinet is expected to start reforms in the electricity sector next week following a cabinet meeting to be held on Tuesday for the appointment of a board of directors for EDL.
This reform is part of the preconditions that the International Monetary Fund has imposed on Lebanon in exchange for its financial support.
–IANS
ksk/