Lebanon Cuts Power to Government Offices Amid Energy Crisis

Beirut, Lebanon – Lebanon's Ministry of Energy and Water has begun cutting electricity supplies to about 100 public institutions with unpaid bills, according to local media. The decision took effect on Monday, marking a new escalation in the dispute between Energy Minister Joe Saddi and the government.

Saddi has been boycotting cabinet meetings, citing the government's failure to meet demands to increase power supply, ease the burden of fuel costs and settle debts owed to the state electricity utility. Last week, three ministers from his Lebanese Forces (LF) party also joined a boycott of a cabinet session, a move Saddi described as intended to pressure the government to focus more on the electricity crisis.

Lebanon has struggled with power cuts for years, but state-supplied electricity plunged after the 2019 economic and banking crisis. In Beirut, grid power once ran about 21 hours a day; it is now down to two to four hours, with some days seeing no power at all.

Analysts say deep structural problems lie behind the state's failure to provide electricity, and that without thorough reform the situation is unlikely to change. Energy expert Jessica Obeid said corruption across the entire electricity supply chain runs into the billions of dollars and cannot be resolved overnight.

In place of unreliable state power, an alternative economy has grown up around private generators, many of them run by political parties or individuals closely tied to the ruling establishment. When a government led by reform forces took office in early 2025, there were hopes the situation would improve, but more than a year and a half later state power remains feeble while energy costs and inflation have soared.

The World Bank forecasts Lebanon's year-on-year inflation at 17.5% this year. Fuel costs linked to the conflict between the United States, Israel and Iran have sharply driven up the price of electricity from diesel-run generators. Obeid noted that Lebanon depends on very expensive diesel and that its state power plants are old, so it cannot rely on stopgap solutions and needs a vision for the electricity system it wants.

The disagreement over electricity has fuelled speculation about a possible cabinet reshuffle and about Saddi's resignation. Saddi told Lebanese media that early this year he pushed Prime Minister Nawaf Salam's government to prioritise his ministry's agenda, but eased the pressure when Israel stepped up its military campaign in Lebanon in early March. After the 2027 draft budget was published in October, the LF and Saddi objected, saying the electricity sector had not been given due attention.

Economist Sami Zoughaib, of the Lebanon-based research group The Policy Initiative, described the boycott as a political move by Saddi and his party to avoid losing popular support. In his view, if the party fails in the eyes of the public, it will struggle to keep the energy ministry portfolio. Under previous governments, the Energy Ministry was at times run by the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), the LF's main Christian political rival. In recent months, FPM leader Gebran Bassil, a former energy minister who once fell short of a pledge to provide 24-hour power, has criticised Saddi's handling of the sector.

Against this backdrop, Qatar has stepped in to support Lebanon. Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani visited Beirut last month and confirmed plans for energy cooperation, including a solar power project. Reuters later reported that Doha had offered to build two power plants within three years and supply liquefied natural gas under a 20-year contract.

If approved, the deal would be a major benefit for Lebanon's energy sector. Analysts say, however, that the electricity sector still needs structural reform, which may include rebuilding the entire grid. Zoughaib said ageing energy infrastructure meant the pre-2019 electricity subsidy model consumed a significant share of the annual budget, and the state cannot repeat the old model because it has no money; instead it needs reform across the sector to create a sustainable scenario.

Saddi has proposed attracting private investors through public-private partnerships to tackle the energy crisis. Experts say instability in Lebanon, with repeated Israeli strikes and the risk of further escalation, will make investors wary. The failure to reform the financial and banking sector seven years after the economic crisis began is also a major obstacle.

Obeid said political stability is a key factor for investors, while Lebanon has been a bankrupt state for at least seven years without taking action, showing a lack of real reform will and raising investment risk. She also said Lebanon's grid is damaged and needs restoring, while successive governments have sought only short-term, unsustainable fixes. In her view, Lebanon needs only a vision and someone willing to make bold decisions.