Mikati chairs meetings on electricity payments, general developments

Caretaker Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, on Wednesday chaired a meeting at the Grand Serail with Energy Minister, Walid Fayyad, Finance Minister, Youssef Khalil, Director General of the Ministry of Finance, George Maarawi, and former Minister, Nicolas Nahas. Following the meeting, Minister Fayyad explained that the session focused on addressing the payments due from public institutions to Electricité du Liban (EDL). 'While a treasury advance of 6,800 billion Lebanese pounds had been approved, only 1,000 billion pounds had been disbursed so far. The government is now working on a solution to release the remaining funds quickly. Under Prime Minister Mikati's direction, EDL will send notices directly to the Ministry of Finance to consolidate all claims and ensure the full payment of approximately $60 million by the end of the year. This amount will be deposited into EDL's account, allowing the company to fulfill part of its payment obligations to Iraq, which were agreed upon in the last cabinet session,' Fayya d said. The Energy Minister added that the payments owed by public institutions have been accumulating since November 2022 until the end of June 2023. 'EDL will expedite the issuance of bills for the period from July 2023 to July 2024, particularly for large consumers, who represent over 80% of electricity consumption. The 2023 budget has allocated $100 million for public institutions to settle their electricity bills, which will also be transferred to Iraq's account at Lebanon's central bank as part of the ongoing energy exchange agreement,' Fayyad added. Fayyad then highlighted that these measures would inject approximately $150 million into EDL's account, ensuring smooth energy cooperation between Lebanon and Iraq. Prime Minister Mikati separately met with Information Minister, Ziad Makary, with whom he discussed general issues related to the ministry and the country. The PM later held a meeting with Minister of Administrative Development, Najla Riachi, to review general local developments. Additiona lly, the Prime Minister received MP Walid al-Baarini, with whom he discussed various regional and developmental concerns. Source: National news agency - Lebanon