According to the Ministry of Finance, transfers to EDL stood at $924.36M by December 2020, dropping by 38.6% compared to the same period last year. This was mainly a result of lower payments to KPC and Sonatrach for fuel oil purchases, and lower debt services.
In details “Payments to fuel and oil gas suppliers KPC and SPC”, constituting 99.81% of total transfers, slumped yearly by 38.6% to $922.17M by December 2020, as the volumes of fuel and gas oil imported decreased by 20.47% and 8.22%, respectively.
EDL contributed 0.06% of the total Jan-Dec 2020 oil bill, higher by 0.27% during the same period last year, out of a higher bill of $1.5B. In nominal terms, EDL’s contribution amounted to $563,847 by December 2020, compared to $4.08M over the same period of 2019.
EDL transfers represented a share of 8.5% of the government’s primary expenditures (excluding interest payments), which reached $924.05M by December 2020, compared to a higher share of 13.3% last year.
Importantly, data for EDL transfers is still not available for the recent period, however, we note that the Electricity sector in Lebanon is still adding pressure to the financial crisis in Lebanon. As of June 2021, EDL was able to unload only one Tanker of fuel oil but failed to open credit documents for another. Furthermore, Lebanon is still experiencing longer periods without electricity for the month of July
In addition to that, Électricité de Zahlé, which until now has provided 24/7 electricity in Zahle and its surrounding villages, announced that it is rationing power for industrial customers and asked customers to conserve energy to avoid power cuts for residential users.
EDL Contribution from Total Oil Bill by December
