During a session of the Lebanese Parliament, MP Gebran Bassil criticized the government over the ongoing electricity shortages, highlighting the impact of the crisis on Lebanese citizens and the losses incurred by the state treasury.
The head of the Free Patriotic Movement launched a sharp attack on the government, describing it as a “government of darkness and generators” that offers promises without delivering results.
Bassil accused the government of imposing an additional annual burden of up to $3 billion on citizens compared with the previous electricity bill. He argued that these policies are deliberately harming the economy by depriving people of cheaper electricity — which he said costs the state 27 cents, compared with 55 cents for generator power.
He sarcastically questioned whether the authorities would eventually go as far as “cutting off sunlight” from citizens.
Bassil also argued that importing electricity by sea could have saved the state treasury around $360 million, questioning why the previous pricing system was not maintained, which he said had achieved financial balance and eliminated the deficit.
He concluded by accusing the authorities of deliberately undermining and bankrupting Électricité du Liban, in order to divide the country into separate “zones and sectors” where large private generators could operate at the expense of citizens.
