EDL cuts now affect telecommunications. Ogero announced, Monday evening, November 2, that several telephone centres had lost their public power supply. The operator warned of a risk of interruption of the fixed telephone and Internet, while the Ministry of Telecommunications claims to have transmitted millions of dollars of invoices to Finance for settlement.
As a result, the arm of arms over the administrations’ unpaid payments has reached a new stage. It no longer concerns only accounting relations between public bodies: it threatens a service used daily by households and businesses. However, two situations must be distinguished. Ogero confirmed the shutdown of power supply provided by Electricity of Lebanon, not a general interruption of communications in all the areas mentioned.
EDL cuttings: 17 localities cited by Ogero
The list provided by Ogero includes Antelias, Bikfaya, Mazraat Yachouh, Aarabniyé, Sin el-Fil, Dorah, Baskinta, Bteghrine, Saida, Sofar, Hammana, Aley, Zuk, Jounieh, Batrun, Abrine and Kfarhenda. These 17 names refer to the areas where the centres are located. They do not constitute a balance sheet of private connection subscribers or the count of Internet failures.
According to the operator, the affected installations operate entirely on generators. This solution helps maintain services, but Ogero warns that their continuity could be affected. It states that its technical teams are seeking to preserve the operation of the network, while the Ministry of Telecommunications is working with the Ministry of Energy and EDL to restore power supply.
The alert therefore concerns the fragility of the emergency operation. The press release does not provide any duration of autonomy, fuel stock or number of exposed subscribers. None of these elements allow, at this stage, to announce an hour at which connections would cease to work.
Invoices sent, not proof of payment received
In a press release issued on 2 November, the Ministry of Telecommunications states that it sent to Finance invoices received, verified and liquidated according to procedures for $5,199 million. He separately mentions $1,275 million in invoices payable through an advance from the Consolidated Revenue Fund under Order 12816.
The Department states that certain invoices for 2023 and 2024 remain related to a request for transfer of appropriations submitted to Finance on July 13, 2026. He referred to the inadequacy of the appropriations provided for in previous budgets. He also ensures that Alfa, Touch and Ogero pay their bills regularly, without delay.
This answer highlights a disagreement which remains to be documented by subscription. The amounts announced relate to the files referred to by the department: they cannot be presented as the debt of Ogero. Above all, forwarding an invoice to Finance does not prove that the corresponding payment was executed and then registered by EDL.
Continuity of service in the midst of the accounting conflict
EDL had announced the launch on 2 November of cuts targeting administrations and municipalities that had not paid for their consumption. The first press release did not detail the actual private electricity sites. The Ogero announcement now provides a concrete identification of affected facilities and potentially exposed services.
There are two requirements face-to-face: the collection of revenue from a public supplier and the continuity of another public service. Operating the central offices on generators does not resolve the financial dispute. This temporarily shifts the constraint to an emergency power supply, Ogero himself highlights the possible limits.
For subscribers, the expected clarification is practical: which centres have recovered electricity, which remain on generators and where have disturbances actually been observed? The elements consulted for this article do not allow for a recovery assessment or for quantifying telephone or Internet interruptions. The Ogero warning must not be transformed into an announcement of a general breakdown.
Cover: Lebanon Electricity Headquarters in Beirut, archive of 17 August 2008. Photo:Philippe48 / Wikimedia Commons,CC BY-SA 3.0. Boxing, resizing and dressing Libnanews; under the same license. It is the seat of EDL, not an Ogero center or a photograph of the current cuts.
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