Turkish company Karpowership will stop supplying power to Lebanon from two floating power plants off the country’s coast.
The move follows significant arrears and a legal dispute with the Lebanese government, which is suffering from a deep economic crisis.
Karpowership supplies about a quarter of Lebanon’s power needs and says it has yet to receive more than $ 100 million in payments from Lebanon’s government. The bills would not have been paid for eighteen months. Karpowership had previously warned to shut down the power supply if no money would come.
In addition, the Lebanese government has threatened to seize the floating power plants over suspicions of corruption in contract negotiations with Karpowership, which denies those allegations. The ships with power plants have been off the coast of Lebanon since 2013.
Karpowership’s decision exacerbates Lebanon’s electricity supply problems. Many households in the country have their own generators to generate power, and many people face hours of power outages. The economic crisis has made it difficult for the Lebanese government to pay the bills for fuel imports.
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