The discussion will be held in both Arabic and English, with interpretation available on Zoom only.

You can register to attend by following this link. You will receive a Zoom confirmation email should your registration be successful. Alternatively, you can watch the event live here on our Facebook page.

Lebanon’s energy crisis - manifested by the state’s failure in providing round the clock electricity coverage, has been a constant feature of Lebanon’s contemporary history. Various government policies and initiatives, and the efforts from the private sector, have yet to address the energy crisis. It has only worsened since 2019 due to Lebanon’s ongoing political and economic crisis. Today, most of Lebanon’s residents subsist on barely a few hours of government electricity, and several hours of “homemade” energy which either comes from highly polluting diesel generators, or from solar energy. In the past 3 years, solar has become a subject of considerable economic and business interest, leading Lebanon to experience a so-called “Solar Power Revolution” as more and more private enterprises are investing in solar energy. In the face of this so-called revolution, the Lebanese government sought to modify current energy arrangements and legislations to accommodate private energy generation, leading to the “Decentralised Renewable Energy Power Generation” law, ratified by the Lebanese Parliament on 14 December 2023 under law No. 318/2023. The law allows for electricity produced by the private sector from renewable sources to be sold, and allows for private renewable energy generators to be connected to the Electricité du Liban (EDL) grid at a maximum capacity of 10 megawatts (MW).

This law has been receiving attention, especially on issues pertaining to decentralization and the role the private sector is expected to play within this system. Indeed, who will by extension monitor and oversee how the private sector is operating, especially as Lebanon suffers from high rates of endemic corruption? Can this law enable an out of control proliferation of unfit and dangerous energy generation? What role is the Electric Regulatory Authority expected to play in this?

Building on these questions, this webinar will further contextualize this discussion within the wider spectrum of what is currently happening in Lebanon, namely the war in South Lebanon, and the failures to find natural gas in our seas. This webinar will also be a chance to reflect on what could be best considered just alternatives to current energy legislations and policies in Lebanon.

Join us on Wednesday February 7 at 4pm Beirut time on Zoom for a webinar featuring two prominent voices in Lebanon’s energy sphere in Lebanon: Laury Haytayan, MENA Director at the Natural Resource Governance Institute, and Pierre el Khoury, Director General of the Lebanese Center for Energy Conservation (LCEC). The conversation will be moderated by Program Director of the Environmental Politics Program at the Arab Reform Initiative, Sarine Karajerjian, and will be in Arabic with live English interpretation.