There are a few big differences between living in Europe and living in Lebanon, even though they’re geographically not very far: The traffic and noise, the pollution, the lack of public transport definitely affect your everyday life; for some reason you’re not allowed to throw toilet paper in the toilets; and every day, like clock work, the electricity goes out. Before Lebanon’s current crisis, when we started this podcast, power cuts happened three hours a day in Beirut and twelve hours a day outside of Beirut. In Beirut, they rotated – on Monday, it would be 6-9 in the morning, then on Tuesday 9-12, etc. Knowing the power cut schedule becomes a fundamental part of your day as you try to plan around it, unless you are lucky enough to have a generator. So like we said, simply not enough electricity, the kind of thing you don't really think you'll have to deal with when you move to a middle income country (back when Lebanon was a middle income country). This would be a huge impediment if it was not for the ubiquitous generators. Of course, most Europeans who move to Lebanon are lucky enough to have a generator. In practical terms, this means that when the lights go out, you wait for the generator to start and the lights come back on. They will probably turn off again if you try to run anything big like your washing machine, but you can work around that. These generators are themselves a fascinating topic: they run on diesel, and are owned by a network of private owners who charge significantly more per unit than the state-run electricity company, Electricité du Liban, an organisation you will hear all about later. So for three hours a day in Beirut and twelve hours a day outside of Beirut, even in the good times, most of the city ran on diesel. Now you see why pollution is such a big part of life in Lebanon. We wish we were kidding about much of the country running on diesel-fuelled generators, but alas we are not, and you will realise that once you land in Beirut and that smell fills your nostrils. But if this problem has been going on for so long, how has nobody solved it by now? But why does the state schedule power cuts? If it knows that there is not enough power in the grid, why can’t they solve it? The answer to this is interesting. We mentioned earlier that generators are more expensive than the state electricity – the state electricity is actually very cheap. This is because the state actually subsidises electricity, meaning that people living in the country pay less for electricity than it costs to generate. In 2016, long before Lebanon’s current crisis, the IMF estimated that these electricity subsidies were responsible for 40% of Lebanon’s huge public debt. This public debt is one of the highest in the world in comparison with GDP, and is part of the reason for the financial collapse of the Lebanese state in recent years. A reduction of these subsidies was a condition of loans and bailouts over the years, but the Lebanese elite could never make it happen. As always, necessary reforms were prevented by petty fights over power. A law was passed to reform the sector in 2002, but was never implemented because of arguments over roles and responsibilities. You heard that right, crappy electricity policies were one of the reasons for huge debt and eventual financial collapse of the Lebanese state. Seems crazy right? When it comes to governance in Lebanon, it sometimes feels like no situation is too crazy with a political elite that cares more about short-term gains for themselves than the country or its citizens. While subsidies may seem like a good idea – after all, it makes electricity more affordable and therefore benefits the poor – in Lebanon’s case, they meant that most people just had two electricity bills because the state was unable to provide enough electricity. The money spent on dirty generators could have gone into rebuilding electricity infrastructure and creating sustainable solutions, but instead it went to private generator operators. As is often true in Lebanon, political arguments meant that short-term solutions were prioritized and power stations were never upgraded. This means that for the most part, Lebanese electricity was running on old fuel-powered stations that also contributed hugely to pollution and Turkish boats off the coast that were providing power. These solutions were expensive and unsustainable, and they predictably suffered when crisis hit. The power grid that has struggled for years from a lack of investment was also put under increased strain when the civil war in Syria sent at least a million refugees across Lebanon’s borders, who needed electricity too. This meant that for the last ten years, while there has been some investment and upgrades to the power grid, this really just succeeded in providing the same amount of electricity because of the increased demand. A bunch of unsustainable, expensive Band-Aid solutions that rack up mounting debt and increased demand from a neighbouring war. The next part seems pretty predictable. We have talked about the multiple crises that have hit Lebanon in recent years. The main one, of course, was the collapse of the financial system, as the central bank ran out of foreign currency reserves. As you likely remember, this means that the Lebanese lira crashed, creating a black market exchange rate for dollars that was much higher than the official rate. This made life very difficult for importers, who bought in dollars, and as a result we saw the price of imported goods soar. This is a big problem in a country that runs on diesel generators and imports 85% of its food. As this financial crisis worsened, Lebanon started to default on its debts as it ran out of money, and because of this the ability to borrow more dollars became a distant memory, especially because Lebanese politicians still could not pass necessary reforms. This became a problem for its subsidized electricity sector quite quickly. Remember that Lebanese electricity relied a lot on fuel to run its power plants. This fuel has to be imported in dollars, and the Turkish boats off the coast providing electricity are also paid in dollars. As the crisis continued, the state gradually reduced the electricity it was providing, because providing subsidised electricity was a huge drain on its finances. Power cuts started to get more frequent, and people in Lebanon started to talk about the hours of electricity that they did have rather than the hours of electricity they didn’t have. Finally, in October 2021, the crisis peaked: the Turkish contracts had expired, the power plants ran out of fuel, and the national grid shut down, plunging the country into darkness. For anyone who saw Beirut at its height, full of lights and life, seeing a completely dark city of skyscrapers was a shock. At the same time, the network of generator operators had been struggling for months as the lack of dollars made it increasingly difficult and expensive to import the fuel that they need to run the generators. This means that generators have become even more expensive, as the economy also crashed, making them inaccessible to much of the population. So electricity, like so many other things, have become a luxury in today’s Lebanon for much of the population, and is another area of everyday life that creates daily resentment against the Lebanese ruling class and political system. فِي شوَيّة اِختِلَافَاتْ كبِيرِة بِينْ العِيشِة بأوروبّا و العِيشِة بلِبنَان, مَعْ إنُّه المَسَافِة الجّغرافِيّة بينُنْ مُو كبِيرِة: شِي أكِيدْ إنُّه عَجقِة السّيرْ و الضّجّة و التَّلّوّثْ و قِلّة وَسَائِلْ النَّقلْ العَامّة بتأثّر عَلَى حَياتَك اليَومِيّة. و مَا بعرِف لِيش مَمنُوعْ تِرمي المَحَارِمْ بِالحَمَّامَات. و كِلْ يومْ بتِقطَع الكَهربَا بأوقَات محَدَّدة. قَبلْ الأزمِة الحَالِيّة بلبنانْ, لَمّا عمِلنا هَذا البودكَاست, كانِتْ الكَهربَا تِقطَع تلاتْ سَاعَاتْ يوميّاً ببيرُوتْ و 12 سَاعَة بَرَّا بَيروت. كَانْ فِي تنَاوب بساعات قَطعْ الكَهربا ببيرُوت - بتقطَع يوم الإثنين 6-9 الصّبح, بَعدِين التَّلاتا 9-12 و إلى آخِرِه. صَارْ جِزءْ أسَاسِي بيومَكْ إنَّك تَعرِفْ مَواعِيدْ قَطعْ الكَهرَبا, لَحَتَّى تخَطّطْ كِل شِي عَلَى أسَاسهَا, إلَّا إذَا كِنتْ محظوظْ و عِندَكْ اِشتراك مولدِة. So like we said, simply not enough electricity, the kind of thing you don't really think you'll have to deal with when you move to a middle income country (back when Lebanon was a middle income country). This would be a huge impediment if it was not for the ubiquitous generators. طَبعَاً أغلَبْ الأوروبِيّين يَلّي بينتِقلُو لَيعيشُو بلِبنان مَحظُوظِينْ منِيحْ بوجُود اِشتراك موَلدِة الكَهربا. هَذا يَعنِي عَمَليَّاً إنُّه لَمَّا تِطفِي الأضواء, بتِستَنَّى حَتَّى تِشتغِل الموَلدة و تِرجَع تِشتغلْ الأضواء. مُمكِنْ يرجَعو يطفُو إذَا شَغّلتْ شِي كبِير متلْ الغَسَّالة, بس فيك تزَبّطها. هَي الموَلدات بحَد ذاتهَا مَوضُوعْ مُثِيرْ, بيشتِغلُو عَالمازوت. و هِيّي ملِك خَاص لَشَبكِة مِن أصحَاب المولدَات, و بياخدُو رُسوم اِشتِراكْ أكتَرْ بكتِيرْ مِنْ شِركِة الكَهربا التَّابعة للدَّولة اللّبنانِيّة, و هِيّي مؤسَّسة رَحْ تَعرِفْ عَنها أكتر لَاحِقاً. يَعنِي بتقطَع تلات ساعَاتْ يوميَّاً ببيرُوتْ و 12 سَاعة بَرَّا بيرُوت. حَتَّى بأيّامْ الرَّخاء كانِت كِلْ المَدِينة شَغَّالة عَالمازوتْ. و هِيكْ صَارْ فيكُن تَعرفُو لِيشْ التَّلَوّثْ جِزء كبِيرْ مِنْ الحَياة فِي لبنان. We wish we were kidding about much of the country running on diesel-fuelled generators, but alas we are not, and you will realise that once you land in Beirut and that smell fills your nostrils. But if this problem has been going on for so long, how has nobody solved it by now? طَيّب لِيش بتنَظّم الدَّولة وَقتْ قَطعْ الكَهربا؟ إذَا بتَعرِف إنُّه مَافِي طَاقَة كافِية بِالشّبكِة الكَهربائِيّة؟ الجَّواب عَلى هَذا السُّؤالْ مهِمْ. ذَكَرنا قَبلْ إنُّه اِشتِراك المولّداتْ أغلَى بكتِيرْ مِنْ كَهربا الدَّولِة - يَعني كَهربا الدَّولة كتِيرْ رخِيصَة فِعليَّاً, لَإنهَا مَدعُومة مِن قِبَلْ الدَّولة, و هَذا بيعنِي إنُّه النَّاسْ يَلّي عَايشِين بالبَلدْ بيدفَعُو أقَلْ مِنْ تَكلِفة تَولِيدْ الكَهربا. بسِنِة 2016 و قَبلْ الأزمِة الحَاليّة بلبنَان, قَدَّر صَندُوق النَّقد الدُّولي (IMF) إنُّه دَعم الكَهربا كَانْ مَسؤول عَنْ 40% مِن دِينْ لبنان العَامْ الكبِير. و هَذا الدّين العَامْ يُعتَبَرْ منْ أعلَى المُعَدّلات بِالعَالمْ بِالمُقارَنة مَع الإنتَاج المحَلّي الإجمَالي, و هُو سَبَبْ مِن أسبَاب الإنهِيار الإقتِصادِي للدَّولة اللّبنانيّة بالسّنوات الأخيرَة. كَانْ تخفِيض الدّعم شَرطْ القرُوض و خُطَط الإنقَاذ عَلَى مَر السّنين, بَسْ الطَّبقة الحَاكمِة بلبنَان مَا عَمْ تحَقّقْ هَالشّي. مِتل العَادِة, الصّراعَات السّخيفة عَلَى السّلطَة مَنَعِت وجودْ الإصلَاحَات اللَّازمِة. تَمْ إصدَارْ قَانون إصلَاحْ القطّاع سنِة 2002, بَسْ مَا تنفّذ أبدَاً بسَبَبْ الخِلافَات عَلى الأدوار و المَسؤولِيّاتْ. You heard that right, crappy electricity policies were one of the reasons for huge debt and eventual financial collapse of the Lebanese state. Seems crazy right? When it comes to governance in Lebanon, it sometimes feels like no situation is too crazy with a political elite that cares more about short-term gains for themselves than the country or its citizens. بالرّغمْ مِنْ إنُّه مُمكِنْ يكُونْ الدَّعم المالِي فِكرَة منِيحَة - بالنّهاية هالشّي بيوفّر الكهرَبا بأسعَارْ مَقبولِة و هِيكْ بيستَفيدُو الفُقرَاء - بَسْ بحالِة لبنان أغلب النَّاسْ عِندُن فاتُورتين كَهربَا لَإنُّه الدَّولة مَا كانِت قَادرَة توَفّر كَهربَا بشكِل كَافِي. كَانْ مُمكِنْ يتِم الاِستفَادِة مِن المصارِي يَلّي بتنصرِفْ عَلَى المولدَات الملوِّثِة بإعَادِة بِناء البُنية التَّحتِيّة للكَهربَا و إيجادْ حُلولْ مُستدَامِة, بَسْ رَاحِت المَصارِي لأصحَابْ المولّدات الخَاصّة. و كَالعَادِة بلبنانْ, كَانِت الدَّوافِع السّياسِيّة تعطِي الأولَويّة للحلُولْ قصيرِة المَدَى و ما صَار فِي أي تَحسِين لمحَطَّات تَولِيد الطَّاقة. و هيك كَانِت الكَهربَا اللّبنانِيّة عَمْ تشتغِلْ عَلى المحطَّات القَدِيمة يَلّي بتِعتمِدْ عَلَى الوقود و يَلّي ساهمِت كَمَان بشكلْ كبِيرْ بالتَّلوّث و بوجودْ القوارِب التّركِيّة قبَالْ السَّاحِل يَلّي كَانِتْ عَمْ توَفّر كَهربَا. كانِت هَي الحُلولْ غَالية و مُو مُستدَامِة, و كَان مُتوَقّع يصِيرْ فِي مُعَاناة لَمَّا بَلّشتْ الأزمِة. و كَمَانْ تعَرّضتْ شَبكِة الطَّاقَة, يَلّي عَانِت لَسنوات مِنْ نَقصْ الاستِثمَار, لضُغوط إضَافِيّة لَمَّا وِصِلْ مَا لا يقلْ عَن مليون لَاجِئ مِنْ حُدود لبنان بسَبَب الحَربْ فِي سوريا, و هِنّي كَمَان بيحتاجُو لَلكَهربا. يَعني خِلالْ آخِر عَشرْ سنِين لَمَّا كَان فِي شوَيّة اِستِثمارَات و تَحدِيثات لشَبكِة الكَهربا, نَجَح هَذا الشّي بِتوفِير نَفسْ كَميّة الكهرَبَا بسَبَب زيادِة الحَاجِة. A bunch of unsustainable, expensive Band-Aid solutions that rack up mounting debt and increased demand from a neighbouring war. The next part seems pretty predictable. حَكينَا عَن الأزمَات العَديدة يَلّي صَارت بلبنان بِالسَّنوت الأخِيرَة. و طَبعاً أهمْ أزمِة كانِت اِنهيارْ المَنظُومِة المَاليّة بَعدْ مَا أفلَسْ البَنكْ المَركَزِي مِنْ اِحتياطِي العُملات الأجنَبيّة. و مِتلْ مَا بتِتذَكَّرُو اِنهَارِت اللّيرَة اللّبنانِيّة بسِرعَة, بِالنّتِيجِة صَارْ فِي سُوق سُودا و سِعرْ صَرفْ الدُّولار فِيهَا أعلَى بكتِير مِن سِعر الصَّرف الرَّسمِي. هَالشّي صَعّب الأمُورْ عَلَى المُستَورِدين يَلّي بيشترُو بالدُّولارْ, لَهِيك شِفنَا اِرتفَاعْ كبِيرْ بأسعَارْ البضَاعَة المُستَوردِة. هَي مِشكلِة كبيرِة ببلَدْ بتِشتغِلْ عَلَى موَلدات مَازوت و بتِستَورِد 85% مِنْ غِذائها. لَمَّا سَاءِت هَي الأزمِة الاقتِصاديّة, بَلّشت لبنان تِتخلَّفْ عَنْ دَفع ديونهَا بَعدْ مَا أفلَسِت, و لَهيك صَارِتْ فِكرة اِستِقراضْ دُولارات إضافِيّة ذِكرَى قَدِيمِة, و خَاصَّةً إنُّه السّياسِيّين اللّبنانيين بَعدُن مُو قَادرين يَعملُو الإصلَاحَات اللَّازمِة. و سُرعَان مَا شَكَّلْ هَذا الشّي مِشكلِة لقطَّاع الكَهرَبا المَدعُوم. و تذَكَّرو إنُّه الكَهربَا اللّبنانيّة اِعتَمدِت كتِير عَلَى الوقودْ لَتشغيلْ مَحطَّات تَوليدْ الكَهرَبا. و طبعَاً لَازِم يتِم اِستيرَاد هَذا الوقودْ بالدُّولار, و كَمَانْ بيتمْ الدَّفِع بالدُّولار للقَواربْ التّركيّة يَلّي بتوَفّر كَهرَبا قبال السَّاحِلْ. و مَع اِستِمرارْ الأزمِة, خَفَّضِتْ الدَّولِة الكَهرَبا يَلّي كَانتْ توَفّرها تَدريجيَّاً, لَإنُّه تَوفيرْ الكَهرَبا المَدعُومِة اِستَنزَفْ مَوارِدهَا المَاليّة. صَارت تزِيدْ سَاعات اِنقِطاعْ الكَهرَبا, و صَارو النَّاس بلبنان يحكُو عَن سَاعَات جَيّة الكَهرَبا أكتَر مِنْ سَاعَات اِنقِطَاعهَا. و أخِيرَاً بتشرين الأوَّل 2021, بَلَغتْ الأزمِة ذروتهَا: اِنتَهِت صَلاحيّة العُقود مَع تركيّا, و خِلصْ الوقودْ مِنْ مَحَطَّات الطَّاقَة, و تسَكَّرت الشَّبكِة الوطنيّة, و هِيك غِرقت البَلدْ بِالعتمِة. أي حَدَا شَاف بيروت بعزّهَا, مضَوّاية و مليانِة حَياة, اِنصَدم بَعدِين بشُوفِة مَدينة نَاطِحات سَحَاب مِعتمِة تَمَامَاً. و بنَفسْ الوَقتْ, عَانُو أصحَاب شَبكِة المولدات لَشهُورْ لَإنُّه بسَبَبْ نَقصْ الدُّولار صَار اِستيرادْ الوقودْ يَلّي بيحتَاجُوه لَيشَغلُو المولدَات كتِيرْ صَعبْ و غَالِي. و هَذا بيعنِي إنُّه صَارِت اِشتِراكَات المولّداتْ كتِير غَالية بسَبب اِنهيار الاقتِصَادْ, فَصَارِت بعِيدِة عَنْ مُتناوَلْ كتِيرْ مِن السّكَّانْ. So electricity, like so many other things, have become a luxury in today’s Lebanon for much of the population, and is another area of everyday life that creates daily resentment against the Lebanese ruling class and political system.
1 Comment
Grace
29/3/2022 09:48:26 am
Well done as always! Thanks for this episode. The topic is super relevant and has been very helpful as learning material to me.
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