Lebanon's electricity reform faces resistance from EDL's labor union as debate intensifies over restructuring the utility and implementing long-delayed sector legislation.
The Union of Workers and Employees of Electricité du Liban has opposed plans to restructure the utility as Lebanon pursues long-delayed electricity sector reform. The restructuring debate centres on how to implement Electricity Sector Regulatory Law No. 462 of 2002, approved by Parliament but never enforced.
Economy expert Patrick Mardini argued that the question is not whether private-sector participation is inherent good or bad, but how reforms are designed and implemented. He noted that EDL's chronic shortages and financial deficits demonstrate the need for change and that maintaining the current structure is no longer viable.
Law No. 462 envisioned separating electricity generation, transmission and distribution while introducing competition and regulating private-sector participation. Successive governments and energy ministers introduced alternative plans instead of applying the existing legal framework, Mardini said.
Private companies already participate in the electricity sector through Distribution Service Providers, which manage networks and collect bills in different regions. Private firms have also historically managed power plants and other electricity projects.
Under the current DSP model, companies receive payments for services regardless of whether electricity bills are collected, meaning collection failures become a burden on EDL and the state. Mardini argued the solution is to transform service providers into full distribution companies that would purchase electricity in bulk and sell directly to consumers, creating financial incentive to improve collection.
Mardini rejected claims that restructuring would harm workers' rights, citing international experience showing employees often benefit from electricity-sector reform. Separating generation, transmission and distribution would create multiple competing companies that would bid for skilled workers, raising salaries and employment opportunities, he said.
EDL employees possess valuable technical knowledge that private companies would seek to acquire, Mardini argued. He compared the current monopoly structure to one that limits worker alternatives, saying competition would increase employee bargaining power and mobility.
