30 May 2009
BEIRUT: The regional power grid which connects eight countries in the Mideast is expected to supply Lebanon soon with badly needed electricity to supplement the insufficient power in the country, Energy and Water Minister Alan Tabourian said Friday. His remarks were made during an official launching of an investment in a relay station in Ksara, Zahle, with the capacity to handle up to 400 MW supplied by Egypt and passing through Jordan and Syria.
The ceremony was attended by Egypt's Energy Minister Hassan Ahmad Younius, Syrian Energy Minister Ahmad Kasi Kayali and Jordan's Energy Minister Khaldoun Katchan.
Tabourian said the regional power grid is a great achievement from which Lebanon will benefit tremendously in the coming few years.
The minister added that Lebanon should be self-sufficient in electricity in order to meet local consumption.
"The electricity problem in Lebanon is not impossible to solve. We can tackle the shortage of power if we pursue a good vision," Tabourian said.
He repeated his call for the installation of powerful generators across the country to supply the country with electricity in the short term.
The second scenario, according to the minister, is to build power stations which run on coal because this material is cheaper than fuel and gas and environmentally more friendly.
In principle, Egypt is supposed to supply Lebanon between 200 MW to 450 MW, depending on how much Jordan and Syria consume electricity.
At present, Lebanon generates less than 1,600 MW while the country's actual need is in excess of 2,300 MW.
Economy and Trade Minister Mohammed Safadi said the regional power grid will enable Arab countries to achieve higher economic growth.
But the president of the Lebanese Industrialists Association Fadi Abboud, who attended the ceremony, was very critical of the previous governments which failed to address the energy problem in Lebanon since 1993.
He praised the creation of the regional power grid but noted that the cost of energy in Lebanon was too high compared to other Arab states.
Abboud gave the example of fuel oil which costs industrialists nearly $500 to $550 per ton while this commodity in other Arab countries costs industrialists only $50.
"In addition, the cost of labor and land in most Arab countries is much cheaper than Lebanon," Abboud said.
Lebanese industrialists have always complained about the cost of energy and labor.
Abboud said several leading industrial companies in Lebanon that count on intensive energy, such as Uniceramic, the largest ceramic company in the country, have closed down.
"I can't understand the policies of all the previous governments concerning energy for industrialists. As if these guys want us to reach total disintegration," he said.
Abboud was also critical of the Arab states which are not abiding by the World Trade Organization rules.
He added that contrary to the conditions set by the WTO, 16 Arab states which are members of the trade organization are subsidizing the cost of electricity to their industrialists. - The Daily Star
Copyright The Daily Star 2009.
