Turkey’s Karpowerhip shuts down power in Lebanon | Business and Economic News

The Turkish Karpowership, which supplies electricity to Lebanon from both barges, has said it is shutting off supplies due to late payments and that it is a legal threat to its ships in the country’s economic crisis.

The company, which supplies 370 megawatts (MW), or about a quarter of Lebanon’s supply, would have to shut down the government this week if there was no movement for an agreement.

The blackout threatens daily power outages across the indebted nation, which did not have enough capacity to respond to a demand for capacity ahead of the Karpowership move it announced on Friday.

Many people rely on private generators or struggle for several hours a day without power.

‘Very hard times’

In a statement, the company said it was closing supplies.

“We have been extremely flexible with the state for 18 months, we are constantly supplying without payment or payment plan because the country was already going through very hard times. However, no company can work in a direct and excessive risk environment,” said Karpowership, Karadeniz’s unit. .

A source familiar with the situation said the step was taken around 08:00 (05:00 GMT) when the ships ’fuel was running out.

The source, on condition of anonymity, said the delays exceed $ 100 million and added that the government has failed to hold talks or resolve a lawsuit, although the company has repeatedly led to appeals to avoid closure.

‘Complete darkness’

The Lebanese Ministry of Finance said the Turkish company had reported it and mentioned a legislator that the country could have “absolute darkness” if it were closed. He has not made any public statement about the interviews.

A Lebanese prosecutor threatened this month to seize barges and impose a company fine after Lebanese television channel al-Jadeed accused him of allegations of corruption over a power contract. The company denies the charges.

He said he had been unpaid for 18 months, which was in line with the financial crisis, and added that he was looking for a “reasonable solution” to keep the generation going.

Each of its barges has a capacity of 202 MW against a 370 MW supply contract.

An industry source said Lebanon’s total power is about 2,200 MW, including barges, but it generates only 1,300 MW in total, including Turkey’s 370 MW supplies. Lebanon’s highest demand in 2020 was 3,500 MW, the source said.