#Lebanon’s electricity grid shuts down amid fuel shortage

Fuel shortages have forced Lebanon’s largest power stations to shut down Saturday, leaving the country without central electricity for “several days,” officials warned.

“The Lebanese power network completely stopped working at noon today, and it is unlikely that it will work until next Monday, or for several days,” the official said.

The state electricity company confirmed in a statement that the thermoelectric plant at the Zahrani power station had stopped. The Deir Ammar plant stopped on Friday, Reuters reported.

The state electric company will try to rely on the army’s fuel reserves to operate the power plants temporarily, but officials warned it would not happen anytime soon.

Many Lebanese typically rely on private generators that run on diesel, but that is also in short supply, according to the Reuters report.

Intermittent fuel shortages have forced the closure of several businesses in the country, which is grappling with a deep economic crisis after consecutive governments piled up huge debts after the country’s 1975-1990 civil war.