Generator bills account for 44 percent of income on average: HRW report

Lebanon has been facing a worsening electricity crisis for years caused by mismanagement and corruption in the energy sector.     

Based on a 127-page report titled “‘Cut Off from Life Itself’: Lebanon’s Failure on the Right to Electricity,” Human Rights Watch organization stated that the electricity crisis has exacerbated inequality and limited the citizens access for their most basic rights, including food, education, and healthcare.    

Additionally, having reliable and steady electricity in Lebanon became a service for only the wealthiest, which according to the report, has deepened the country’s inequality and pushed people more into poverty.     

Lama Fakih, Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch, said that “the dire situation in Lebanon illustrates why access to safe, clean, and affordable electricity isn’t merely an amenity but is a human right that the state has an obligation to fulfill.”  

According to HRW’s survey of over 1,200 households in partnership with a local research firm, among the poorest 20 percent of the households surveyed, one in five did not have access to a generator, adding that low-income families spent a large part of their income on generator bills compared to the wealthier ones.    

It means spending between 21% to 88% of your income on generators. pic.twitter.com/8o1La2fSHW

— Lama Fakih (@lamamfakih) March 9, 2023

When asked why they do not have access to a generator, 75 percent of them stated that they could not afford it, while many households told HRW that they had to stop generator subscriptions due to the rising cost of diesel and inflation.  

The report also found that the average household received electricity from Électricité du Liban (EDL) for about 10 percent of the day, with the median getting two hours between November 2021 and January 2022.  

HRW found that the average household had generator bills accounting for 44 percent of monthly income.  

“For those in the bottom quintile who accessed a generator, their generator bills consumed 88 percent of their monthly income, on average, compared to 21 percent for the top quintile,” said the report.  

Furthermore, two-thirds of households said that electricity costs affected their ability to pay for essentials.  

Moreover, the poorest quintile of households reported that they went without electricity for 11 hours per day compared to an average of 6 hours for the wealthiest quintile, and about half of the households in the bottom 20 percent reported a 24-hour or longer blackout, while a quarter of the wealthiest households experienced the same.  

In addition, Lebanon’s reliance on plants and generators is causing air pollution that significantly affects the environment and the health of the country’s citizens.   

The organization urged the Lebanese authorities to take urgent steps to ensure that residents have a reliable and affordable electricity supply that does not affect the climate crisis, “with a focus on increasing generation capacity from hydropower, wind, and solar,” which will lead for Lebanon to save money and create more jobs.